Like Mill, he distinguishes between a term's denotation, which is the object or objects it stands for, and its connotation, which is the property or properties it ascribes to something.
Lewis's theory does not eliminate all semantic indeterminacy; when there are equally natural candidates to be the denotation of a term, and each of them is consistent with our dispositions to use the term, then the denotation of the term is simply indeterminate between those candidates.
If there seems to be a gap between the connotation of the term and its denotation, this can be overcome somewhat by thinking of it in terms of Plato's divided line, which establishes a parallel between objects known and the means by which they are known.
If he found some term convenient but ontologically embarrassing, contextual definition enabled him in some cases to continue to enjoy the services of the term while disclaiming its denotation.
The sense of an expression accounts for its cognitive significance it is the way by which one conceives of the denotation of the term.
The semantical value of such a term can be given by what Carnap (1947) called an individual concept, a function that picks out the denotation of the term for each possible world.
However, we received questions on this term (e.g. 'does this mean that care should not be proactive?') that made clear that the denotation of the term is not well known among the expert panel.
In a next step, the author presents different denotations of the term 'global' in 'global health' and applies these to the areas of malnutrition; HIV, tuberculosis & malaria; and maternal mortality.
Scholarly opinion has generally been divided between two alternative interpretations of the term abhidharma, both of which hinge upon the denotation of the prefix abhi.
But the real question is: how did Nigger's denotation acquire negative connotation?
Though anthropologists use the term tribe with more precision than journalists, its multitudinous, pejorative connotations surpass simple denotation of a social group.
