Semiotics Terms

Key concepts in semiotics.

Peircean terms:

• sign — a triadic relation among representamen, object, and interpretant
• representamen — the form a sign takes (the sign vehicle)
• interpretant — the meaning produced by a sign
• semiosis — the process of sign-mediated meaning-making
• icon — a sign that resembles its object
• index — a sign connected to its object by causal or spatial relation
• symbol — a sign connected to its object by convention

Saussurean terms:

• signifier — the form of a sign (Saussure’s model)
• signified — the concept evoked by a signifier (Saussure’s model)