“The complete meaning of a word is always contextual, and no study of meaning apart from context can be taken seriously.”

Source: "The Technique of Semantics." 1935, p. 37

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The complete meaning of a word is always contextual, and no study of meaning apart from context can be taken seriously." by John Rupert Firth?
John Rupert Firth photo
John Rupert Firth 14
English linguist 1890–1960

Related quotes

Leo Tolstoy photo
John Rupert Firth photo
David Brin photo
Orson Scott Card photo
Zafar Mirzo photo
John S. Bell photo
Gottlob Frege photo

“Since it is only in the context of a proposition that words have any meaning, our problem becomes this: To define the sense of a proposition in which a number-word occurs.”

Gottlob Frege (1848–1925) mathematician, logician, philosopher

Nur im Zusammenhange eines Satzes bedeuten die Wörter etwas. Es wird also darauf ankommen, den Sinn eines Satzes zu erklären, in dem ein Zahlwort vorkommt.
Gottlob Frege (1950 [1884]). p. 73

Kodo Sawaki photo

“Religion means living your own life, completely fresh and new, without being taken in by anyone.”

Kodo Sawaki (1880–1965) Japanese zen Buddhist monk

Source: Zen ni kike (To you) (Tokyo: Daihorinkaku, 1987)

Zhuangzi photo

“Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.”

Zhuangzi (-369–-286 BC) classic Chinese philosopher

Variant: "Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to."
Context: A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find someone who's forgotten words so I can have a word with him?...

Related topics