Robert Langdon's field in "The Da Vinci Code"

• Field for Kristeva and Barthes
• A philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols
• Absurd poeticisms initially rejected in study of communication
• Languages such as Hebrew, including old study of signs
• Study of meaning-making

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. (philosophy) a philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
study of signs and symbols with special regard to function and origin, 1880, from semiotic ; also see -ics . Medical sense is from 1660s.

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Semeiology \Se`mei*ol"o*gy\ (s[=e]`m[-e]*[o^]l"[-o]*j[y^] or s[=e]`m[-i]*[o^]l"[-o]*j[y^]), or Semiology \Se`mi*ol"o*gy\ (s[e^]m`[-e]*[o^]l"[-o]*j[y^]), n. [Gr. shmei^on a mark, a sign + -logy.] The study of signs as an element of communication; the analysis ...

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. The study of signs and symbols, especially as means of language or communication.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Word definitions in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
noun EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS ▪ Cohen was an artist who studies semiotics , or the cultural meaning of signs and symbols. ▪ Here the influence of psychoanalysis has to he taken into account alongside semiotics , together with the concerns of social history. ...