Which term refers to the meaning of words and phrases within a language?

• A. Phonology
• B. Morphology
• C. Semantics
• D. Inflection

Answer: (C)

Semantics is the study of meaning in language, focusing on what words and phrases express and how they convey ideas. It covers both the basic meaning of individual words (lexical meaning) and how those meanings combine to form the sense of larger units like phrases and sentences. For example, the word bank can mean a financial institution or the side of a river, and semantics explains how context helps us pick the intended meaning. This is distinct from phonology, which looks at how sounds are organized and used in speech; morphology, which examines the structure of words and how they are formed from morphemes; and inflection, which refers to changes in a word’s form to indicate grammatical features. Since the focus here is on meaning, semantics is the best fit.