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Definition

The document discusses various techniques for defining words and concepts, including analysis, collocation, comparison, contrast, etymology, exemplification, extended definition, function, negation, synonyms and more. It provides examples for each technique to illustrate how defining involves understanding the essence, aspects, and relationships of a concept through description and interpretation. The purpose of defining is to analyze concepts clearly so they can be easily understood and related to human perception.

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Mamin Chan
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529 views

Definition

The document discusses various techniques for defining words and concepts, including analysis, collocation, comparison, contrast, etymology, exemplification, extended definition, function, negation, synonyms and more. It provides examples for each technique to illustrate how defining involves understanding the essence, aspects, and relationships of a concept through description and interpretation. The purpose of defining is to analyze concepts clearly so they can be easily understood and related to human perception.

Uploaded by

Mamin Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lesson 3: Your Words Define

Your World
(An Introduction to Definition)
 Defining is trying to understand the meanings of a word
or an expression. It is analyzing, delineating, exploring,
and discovering the different aspects of a particular
concept.
 Definition first comes into mind as an observation- a
mere judgment of a perceived concept, eventually
evolving into other meanings as the person who
perceives the concept changes.
Appassionato
Barbara C. Gonzalez

 Appassionato is the past principle of a Latin word that


means “to impassion”. It is found in music sheets, where
the composer wants to interpret a passage with passion.
 Passion comes from the Latin word for “suffering”,
hence the Passion of Christ. It implies suffering for a
cause deemed noble
Definition
 Defining is understanding the essence of a word, an
idea, a concept, or an expression. It should be done
clearly or through specific terms so that even the most
abstract concepts(e.g., love, happiness, passion, lust,
justice, globalization) can easily be understood and
relatable to the human perception.
Two Concepts
1. Denotation
2. Connotation
1. Denotation is the primary, explicit, or literal definition of
a word. It is also the meaning of a word based on
dictionary.
2. Connotation is the secondary meaning of a word. It is
not necessarily included in the dictionary; it is how
people understand a word based on their own
personal or consensual experiences.
Techniques
Analysis
 The process of breaking down a concept into its
constituent parts. It also entails detailing in which one,
rather than zooming out and describing the concept as
a whole, zooms in and focuses on describing the
aspects that make up a concept.
 Example:
The guitar is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily
through strumming its strings. Its sound is modified or manipulated
through the interaction of the strings with the other parts of the
guitar, which are the headstock or simply the head, the tuners, the nut,
the neck, the sound hole, the body and the bridge.
Collocation
 Collocation means that there are words or expressions
that are usually almost immediately associated with the
concept you are trying to define. These words or
expression are usually located together, hence the
name “collocation”.
Example:
Passion is usually collocated with the terms “love” and
“lust”. While these three words are not only compared but
also contrasted in the sample text above, they are most
often defined in terms of each other because they share a
common semantic feature of “intense liking.”
Comparison
 Comparison is associating the word or expression you
are trying to define with something else not necessarily
synonymous with it. It is highly dependent on imagery
which creates a vivid picture of a concept in the
reader’s mind. Comparison is usually used through
analogy or figurative language like similes and
metaphors. It is used to make abstract concepts more
understandable by using comparison to appeal to the
human senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Example:
“Groping for imagery I find myself thinking of…passion
as hot, strong, almost thick coffee…Coffee unleashes
energy, has a full-bloodied flavor, a touch of bitterness
unpleasant to others, but delicious to the drinker.”
Contrast
 Contrasting is understanding how at least two similar
concepts are different from each other. In the sample
essay of Appassionato, Gonzales mentions that
“passion” and “love” are usually collocated because
they mean almost the same thing. To lessen the
ambiguity between the two, the author uses metaphors
to contrast “passion” and “love”.
 Example:
“Love is softness; passion is smoulder. Love might be contentment,
but passion is adventure. It must be free, untethered. It must explore,
drive beyond the boundaries, break moulds. Passion discovers,
unearths, examines, magnifies, revels in details. Love rolls up details
into a coherent whole. Love is passive; passion hyperactive. Where
love is melancholic, passion is pain.
Etymology

 Etymology is the history of a word. It explains the


evolution of a word or how it has come to be.
Example:
“Appassionato is the past participle of a Latin word that means ‘to
impassion’… If passion is so good, then why do many fear it?
Because by its etymology (from the Latin word ‘passus’, part
participle of ‘pati’ meaning to suffer) it brings pain. To be capable
of passion one must be open, vulnerable and brave enough to
stare pain in the eye.”
Exemplification and Illustration

 Exemplification is defining something by giving


examples. Illustration, on the other hand, is giving an
example and focusing on it to elaborate on the
concept you are trying to define.
 Example:
Books are considered to be credible and reputable resource
materials to consult when you are trying to find the definition of a
word. Some examples are dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, and
manuals.
Extended Definition
 Extended definition is a personal interpretation of an
author to an abstract and multifaceted concept. It goes
beyond denotation and connotation. It gives the reader
a new and fresh understanding of a concept as it
largely draws upon the author’s own perspective of the
world.
Example:
“I believe that a life lived with passion shimmers,
shines, rises above the ordinary. Allow me to seduce
you into passionate existence. To think, to sing,
maybe then to sigh—appassionato.”
Function
 Another way of understanding what a word or concept
means is to know its purpose. It answers the question:
What is it used for?

 Example:
Whether it may be an ancient sundial, a classy pocket watch, a
Rolex or Swatch wrist watch, an antique grandfather’s clock, or the
mighty Big Ben of London, a clock, first and foremost, is a
mechanical device or technology whose primary purpose is to
measure time.
Negation

 Negation is a technique that you can use to define a


word or concept by explaining what it is not.

 Example:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it
is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
-1 Corinthians 13:4-6
Synonyms
 Synonyms are a single word or phrase that share almost
the same meaning with the concept you are trying to
define.
 Example:
According to Dictionary.com, “mawkish” means “characterized by
sickly sentimentality” or “weakly emotional”. It can be considered
synonymous to “nauseating” and “sickening” due to dependence on
too much emotion.
 Slang or colloquial language can also be somewhat
considered under the umbrella term of synonyms.

 Example:
Another name for hashish is marijuana; popular slang in the
United States also calls it “pot” or “grass.”
Reporters:
Acosta, Clyde
Dagum, Glory
Dones, Kezia
Aguirre, Dawn
Ungos, Marifer

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