grunnbetydning

Grunnbetydning is a term used in linguistics and lexicography to describe the core meaning of a lexeme—the central, most basic sense that anchors its semantic field. It denotes the sense from which other uses diverge through metaphor, extension, or domain shifts across contexts. In dictionaries and semantic analyses, grunnbetydning functions as the kernel of a word's meaning, while additional senses are treated as derived, extended, or figurative usages.

The grunnbetydning is not necessarily the most frequent or most modern sense, but it represents the word's historical or essential core. It can differ from denotation and from connotations, which express evaluative or associative aspects. In diachronic studies, researchers examine how grunnbetydningen may widen, narrow, or shift over time, often giving rise to new, specialized meanings while retaining a link to the original sense.

In practice, lexicographers may label the grunnbetydning in dictionary entries to aid learners and researchers. In computational linguistics, identifying a word's grunnbetydning can help with semantic clustering and sense disambiguation by providing a stable core against which peripheral meanings are compared.

The concept is widely discussed in Scandinavian linguistic literature under related terms such as kjernebetydning or hovedbetydning, reflecting a common interest in pinpointing the central meaning that underpins a word's full semantic repertoire.