My summary about Denotation, connotation, and Implycation in Semantic
Denotation
Is the dictionary meaning of a word.
Conotation
Is the emotional overtones or nuances that the word is understood to have, but which
don't necessarily show up in the dictionary.
Implication
The fack or state of being plicated in something.
So for example, the words "youngster" and "Child" both have the same denotation.
However, they have slightly different conotations. "youngster" seems more of a playful, light - hearted word while " child" is morevneutral.
Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the " dictionary definition.
For exple , if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover that one of
its denotative meanings is " any of numerous scaly, leggless, sometimes venomous
reptiles having a long , tapering, cylindrical body and found in most tropical and
temperate regions."
Connotation
on the other hand, refers to the associations that are connected to a certain word or
the emmotional suggestions related to that word.
Since the above answer are good , I will add a new angle with examples. more impo
rtantly, I will offer some insught, hopefully, of how to use these concepts in unterpreting
passages .
A common misunderstanding in ibterpreting a passage is to look dor meaning in individ
ual words.
Linguistic call thia aspect of words., Polysemy. The poin is that meanings can change,
even redically, based onvthe context.
therefore responsible interpretation willvrecognizecthat the meaning of words is almost
entirely contextual.
also it will be important to relize that words can connote very different notion with a change
in time and place.
for example slavery has a very different connotation in paul's they than in North America.