Definition

1. Noun:
   • A word that carries semantic meaning: A "content word" is a word that has a clear, independent meaning that can be defined. It refers to a lexical item that denotes an object, action, quality, or state.
   • A word class with full lexical meaning: In linguistics, a "content word" is a member of a major word class (like nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs) that contributes the primary semantic content to a sentence, as opposed to function words which primarily serve grammatical roles.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • In the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps," the words "fox" and "jumps" are content words.
  • Linguists often contrast content words, such as "house" or "run," with function words like "the" or "and."

Advanced Usage

• In linguistic analysis: The distinction between content words and function words is fundamental. Content words are considered "open-class" words because new words (like "blog" or "google") can be easily added to these categories.
  • The child's early vocabulary primarily consists of content words like "mama," "dog," and "up."

Variants and Related Words

• Lexical word: A synonym for "content word," emphasizing its role in the lexicon or vocabulary of a language.
• Open-class word: A term highlighting that the class of content words can accept new members.
• Function word: The contrasting term for words that have primarily grammatical functions (e.g., prepositions, conjunctions, articles).

Synonyms

• Lexical item
• Full word

Related Phrases

• Content vs. function: A common phrase used to describe the fundamental dichotomy in word types.
  • The lecture focused on the difference between content and function words.

Related Idioms

Noun

1. a word to which an independent meaning can be assigned