SEMANTICS DEFINED

Semantics is a new word, particularly to most of us. It is a study

of words (and symbols generally) in relation to their meanings.
Words are signs or symbols that usually stand for something
other than themselves.
The subject itself is not new. But it was only in the last 8
decades or so that semantics has emerged as full-fledged
discipline.
Semantics is concerned with language to the extent
language is relevant to problems of thinking, understanding,
and communicating. Words are mysterious things. They are
events in space and time. They are physical things.
When we say words have meaning, we say that human
beings agree that a certain word, like ‘bread’ for example, shall
refer to certain physical object. This object could have been
called by other names too, as it happens in other languages. But,
people generally tend to think that a word is necessarily
connected with a certain thing and even find it difficult to refer
to it by any other name.
Words can have as many meanings as people give them. A
‘spring’ may be a season, a source of water or a metal coil.
Knowing about semantics will help us think more clearly
with-in the self—between man and man—and facilitate better
understanding.
(Edited, Sourced, and Excerpted)