This was a word we used when talking about usages of words, as In, Let's not argue semantics. I see we were using it incorrectly sigh, all those wasted years.semantics
n : the study of language meaning
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
semantics
<theory> The meaning of a string in some language, as opposed
to syntax which describes how symbols may be combined
independent of their meaning.
The semantics of a programming language is a function from
programs to answers. A program is a closed term and, in
practical languages, an answer is a member of the syntactic
category of values. The two main kinds are denotational
semantics and operational semantics.
Katy