| designatum |
| Definition:
The object or class of objects — whether existing or not — that a sign labels. Note: As opposed to the denotatum, which is an existing object that a sign labels. |
| Example: The class of objects we call leprechauns is a designatum but not a denotatum. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Latin designatum, the neutre past participle of designare, to mark out or indicate. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1938: "Where what is referred to actually exists as referred to[,] the object of reference is a denotatum. It thus becomes clear that, while every sign has a designatum, not every sign has a denotatum …." (C. W. Morris in Internat. Encycl. Unified Sci. I. 83) |