Blurb:

Chapter 2 explores lexical semantics, the branch of semantics which deals






with the meanings of words. The aim is to show how the lexicon is organized,






how the words of a language are interrelated and how their meanings are consequently






interpreted. The chapter addresses two concerns. One relates to terminology.






It introduces the terms used in the study of lexical semantics and






defines them in a way that is both concise and precise. The other pertains to






relation. It introduces the meaning relations which exist between words. The






chapter is organized as follows. Section 2.1 focuses on the issue of what the






term word is and what word meaning is. Section 2.2 centres on the types of






paradigmatic relations which exist between words. Section 2.3 concentrates






on the types of syntagmatic relations which exist between words. Section






2.4 combines both paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations in the description






of words. In all the sections, I pursue three steps. First, I introduce the term.






Second, I explain its meaning. Third, I devise an exercise to test its application.






Section 2.5 summarizes the main points of the chapter.