Classification of lexical meanings

I. Referential meaning and associative meaning

1. Referential meaning (denotative meaning)

 It is widely believed to be the central meaning of words.

 It is comparatively more stable and universal.

 This kind of meaning of the word has not changed and will not change.

2. Associative meaning

Associative meanings are meanings that hinge on referential meaning, less stable, more culture-specific

II. Types of associative meaning

1. Connotative meaning – the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, embraces the properties of the referent, peripheral. E.g. the word “dog” may have the connotation loyalty, apart from its referent meaning. Connotative meaning is subject to cultures and experience.

2. Social meaning (stylistic meaning) – what is conveyed about the social circumstances of the use of a linguistic expression, including regional or/and social overtones and formality. E.g. Pavement is used in BrE and sideway is used in AmE. 

3. Affective meaning – what is communicated of the feeling or attitude of the speaker/writer towards what is referred to. Statesman is commending in sense while politician is derogatory. 

4. Reflected meaning – what is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression. In order to avoid reflected meaning some expressions are deliberately replaced by others. Words have a taboo meaning tend to be replaced. E.g. Cock is now substituted by rooster.

5. Collocative meaning – the associated meaning a word acquires in line with the meaning of words which tend to co-occur with it. E.g. pretty girls and handsome boys.