Witold Doroszewski

“The potential conflict inherent in every word, and finding expression in the fact that the use of every word is an individual embodiment of a general concept, is the focal point of semantics understood as a part of linguistics — that is as a science of the meanings of words and the history of such meanings”

“In a certain sense may be considered a superior discipline to lexicology, for results are more important than intentions and the value of theoretical principles must be estimated according to results.”

“[ Semantics can be defined as] the science of the meanings of words, [the central issue of which is] the problem of the relationship between words and designata.”

“Not only the tools of manual labour, but also the tools of human thought — words — are subject to the laws of historical development. The history of the meanings of words is outside the area of interest of formal logic, and could not be fruitfully studied by the methods of that discipline.”