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}. (1995-06-21)