The object, concept, or thing that a word or sign actually refers to; what a symbol points to in reality.
From Latin denōtātum, neuter past participle of denōtāre. This is a formal philosophical term used especially in semiotics to describe the referent itself, distinct from the sign or the meaning.
In semiotics, the denotatum is the 'thing itself'—the actual rose, not the word 'rose' and not the idea of romance that roses symbolize; philosophers love this three-way split because it clarifies how symbols connect to reality.
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