denotata

Denotata is the plural of denotatum, a term used in philosophy of language and semantics to refer to the objects or entities that a linguistic expression designates in a given domain. The denotata of a term are its referents; they may be actual objects in the world or elements of a formal model used in semantics.

In ordinary language, proper names denote individual denotata (Aristotle denotes the person named Aristotle), while common nouns denote sets or properties: the denotata of “dog” are the individual dogs in the domain, or, in set-theoretic terms, the extension of the predicate is the set of all dogs. The denotata thus connect linguistic expressions to real or imagined objects and facts.

Denotata are distinguished from sense or intension, which concern the mental concept or the method of presentation associated with a term. Two terms can share the same denotata while differing in sense; likewise, a term’s truth conditions depend on whether its denotata fit the intended domain or interpretation.

In formal semantics and model theory, interpretations map non-logical symbols to denotata within a structure; the extension of a predicate is the collection of objects in the domain that satisfy it, i.e., its denotata. The concept of denotata thus centers on reference rather than merely linguistic meaning.

Historically, the notion has roots in Latin denotatum and has appeared in medieval scholastic logic and modern philosophy to analyze reference, truth conditions, and the language-world relationship. See also denotation, reference, extension, and intension.