Quote: a concrete name (e.g., man) directly denotes subjects, and indirectly connotes the defining attributes

Quotation

The word man, therefore, signifies all these attributes [e.g., rationality] and all subjects [e.g., Jane] which possess these attributes. But it can be predicated only of the subjects. What we call men are the subjects, the individual Stiles and Nokes, not the qualities by which their humanity is constituted. The name, therefore, is said to signify the subjects directly, the attributes indirectly; it denotes the subjects and implies, or involves, or indicates, or, as we shall say henceforth, connotes, the attributes.   Google-1   Google-2

Published before 1923

Related Topics

Topic: meaning vs. reference (49 items)