Denotation is the literal, conventionally agreed-upon meaning of a word or symbol — the specific referent or concept that a linguistic sign points to, as opposed to the associative, emotional, or cultural meanings (connotations) that may also attach to it. Denotation is the dictionary definition, the explicit mapping between sign and referent that enables communication across speakers. It is human-made because the mapping between word and meaning is established by social convention, codified in dictionaries, grammar, and shared linguistic practice — not discovered in nature. The mechanism of persistence is language itself: dictionaries fix denotations, teaching transmits them, and mutual correction within speech communities maintains or shifts them over time. Denotation requires a community of speakers who agree on what a word picks out; without that collective agreement, there is no stable denotation, only private association.
[formal: denotatio | substrate: mind | horizon: generations | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]