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Wortsinn

Wortsinn is a term used in linguistics to describe the semantic content associated with a word in a particular usage—the word’s sense as invoked in context. The word is of German origin (Wort = word, Sinn = sense) and is most commonly encountered in German-language linguistic literature. In English-language discussions, the concept is often rendered as “word sense” or “lexical sense,” though Wortsinn in German literature can carry a nuance that emphasizes the cognitive or conceptual content of a word rather than its simple reference.

Definition and scope

Wortsinn denotes the sense or conceptual content a speaker expresses when using a lexeme, as distinct from

Relation to related concepts

The notion is frequently discussed in relation to Wortbedeutung (word meaning) and to the broader distinction

Examples

Consider the word bank. In a sentence about finances, the wortsinn corresponds to the financial institution;

See also

Word sense, Lexical semantics, Polysemy, Denotation, Pragmatics. In German linguistics, the term is discussed variably, and

its
broad
reference
or
denotation.
It
plays
a
central
role
in
accounts
of
polysemy,
metaphor,
and
lexical
semantics
by
capturing
how
a
single
word
can
evoke
different
conceptual
content
across
contexts.
between
Sinn
(sense)
and
Bedeutung
(reference
or
meaning).
In
some
frameworks,
wortsinn
is
treated
as
a
pragmatic
or
cognitive
facet
of
meaning
that
interacts
with
context
to
determine
which
sense
is
active
in
a
given
utterance.
in
a
sentence
about
rivers,
it
corresponds
to
the
riverbank.
Context
selects
the
appropriate
wortsinn
from
among
the
possible
senses
of
the
lexeme.
its
exact
usage
may
differ
across
authors.