What does semiology mean?
Semiology is the study of signs and symbols and how they communicate meaning. It asks how a sound, mark, gesture, object, or written symbol becomes intelligible, and how conventions allow people to interpret it in particular communities and cultures. The discipline is especially important in linguistics, literary theory, philosophy, anthropology, and communication studies. In medicine, semiology has a more specialized meaning: the recognition and interpretation of symptoms and physical signs during diagnosis. Although semiotics is now the more frequently used term for the general field, semiology remains an established and precise description of the study of signs. The word is useful because it highlights a basic feature of human communication: meanings are not simply contained in objects or symbols but arise through shared systems of interpretation.
The study of signs and symbols and the ways in which they convey meaning, especially through language.
"The seminar combines semiology with literary analysis."
The term is closely related to semiotics and is somewhat less common in modern English.
The branch of medicine concerned with recognizing and interpreting symptoms and physical signs for diagnosis.
"Clinical semiology is an important part of medical training."
This is a technical medical use of the word.
The plural is uncommon; semiology is usually treated as a mass noun in scholarly and medical writing.
"The histories of art and semiotics offer different approaches to interpreting signs."
The same mark can mean a letter, a warning, or a mathematical instruction; semiology asks what makes such meanings possible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does semiology come from?
Semiology comes from the Greek sēmion, meaning “sign” or “mark,” together with the combining form -logy, meaning “study of.” The related English terms semiotics and semiotic developed from the same Greek foundation. In medicine, the word passed through French and Latin usage before becoming established in clinical terminology.
Related word forms
How semiology is actually used
In general usage, semiology is often interchangeable with semiotics, though semiotics is more common in English. In medicine, it has the narrower, established meaning of the study of clinical signs and symptoms.
Easily confused with semiology
Semiology and semiotics are closely related: both study signs and meaning, while semiotics is the more commonly used term for the broader field.
Semiology studies how signs and symbols function in general, whereas symbology focuses more narrowly on the use and interpretation of particular symbols.