Editing Lexical semantics (section)

=== How lexical items map onto concepts ===
First proposed by Trier in the 1930s,<ref name=famer1999>Famer, Pamela B.; Mairal Usón, Ricardo (1999). "Constructing a Lexicon of English Verbs". Functional Grammar (in English) 23 (illustrated ed.). Walter de Gruyter. p. 350. {{ISBN|9783110164169}}.</ref> [[semantic field]] theory proposes that a group of words with interrelated meanings can be categorized under a larger conceptual domain. This entire entity is thereby known as a semantic field. The words ''boil'', ''bake'', ''fry'', and ''roast'', for example, would fall under the larger semantic category of ''cooking''. Semantic field theory asserts that lexical meaning cannot be fully understood by looking at a word in isolation, but by looking at a group of semantically related words.<ref>{{cite book|first=Adrienne|last=Lehrer|title=Historical Semantics, Historical Word Formation|chapter=The influence of semantic fields on semantic change|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|date=1985|pages=283–296 |chapter-url=http://alehrer.faculty.arizona.edu/sites/alehrer.faculty.arizona.edu/files/Semantic%20fields%20and%20change.pdf}}</ref> Semantic relations can refer to any relationship in meaning between [[lexeme]]s, including synonymy ''(big'' and ''large),'' antonymy ''(big'' and ''small),'' hypernymy and hyponymy ''(rose'' and ''flower),'' converseness ''(buy'' and ''sell),'' and incompatibility. Semantic field theory does not have concrete guidelines that determine the extent of semantic relations between lexemes. The abstract validity of the theory is a subject of debate.<ref name=famer1999 />

Knowing the meaning of a lexical item therefore means knowing the semantic entailments the word brings with it. However, it is also possible to understand only one word of a semantic field without understanding other related words. Take, for example, a taxonomy of plants and animals: it is possible to understand the words ''rose'' and ''rabbit'' without knowing what a ''marigold'' or a ''muskrat'' is. This is applicable to colors as well, such as understanding the word ''red'' without knowing the meaning of ''scarlet,'' but understanding ''scarlet'' without knowing the meaning of ''red'' may be less likely. A semantic field can thus be very large or very small, depending on the level of contrast being made between lexical items. While cat and dog both fall under the larger semantic field of animal, including the breed of dog, like ''German shepherd,'' would require contrasts between other breeds of dog (e.g. ''corgi'', or ''poodle''), thus expanding the semantic field further.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Grandy
 | first = Richard E.
 | title = Frames, Fields, and Contrasts: New Essays in Semantic and Lexical Organization
 | publisher = Routledge
 | date = 2012
 | chapter = Semantic Fields, Prototypes, and the Lexicon
 | pages = 103–122
 | isbn = 9781136475801}}</ref>