Definition
A definition is a discourse that says what a thing is or what a word means. Hence the division between actual definitions and nominal definitions. A definition is a formula that indicates the meaning of a term. A definition poses an equivalence between a term and a meaning. It authorizes the replacement of the second by the first and thus has practical utility. It is also the result of an operation, and thus introduces time, as well as an actor. The definition is in the order of denotation, but a term also connotes senses, without explicitly calling on time or an actor. It does so through an external structure of the space of signifiers, but there is also an internal structure that is expressed through etymology. As we can see, the concept of definition does not impose itself: it is part of a structured totality. It implies and indicates choices: what is the new definition? Which actors does it serve? It is a useful tool, but not indifferent.