Noun gender and semantics

When referring to the title of this theme, it is essential that we pay attention to the terms “gender” and “semantics”, because once we are aware of the concept that refers to them, our understanding will be able to apprehend the subject presented here.
When referring to the noun gender, this brings us to the idea of male and female, whose occurrence is directly linked to its flexion. As shown in the following example:
the girl - the boy
the dog - the bitch
the father – the mother

There is also a term widely used in grammar textbooks, called "semantics", which refers to one of the parts that make up the Grammar itself.
It is conditioned to the sense, to the meaning carried by the words, when it comes to the context in which they are used. Let's look at the example:
The hands of those pilgrims looked callused.
The word hand in this sense is a constitutive part of a member of the human body.

My mother has fairy hands for cooking.
Here the meaning diverges, as it is portrayed as a “gift”, the ability to perform a specific procedure.

Now that we are aware of the roots of these terms, it is time to deepen our knowledge of certain cases in which the change of gender will also affect the change of meaning, with regard to some nouns:
The head: boss, leader
the head: part of the body or an object; very smart person
the confirmation:oil used in one of the religious sacraments
the confirmation:religious cerimony

the capital:set of goods, money
the capital:City

the cure:priest
the cure:act or effect of healing

the language:interpreter
the tongue:digestive tract muscle; language for a country.

the moral:state of mind
the moral:set of rules and values ​​that guide human behavior
the schism:religious separation
the schism:concern; suspicion concerning something

the gram:mass unit
the grass:grass, undergrowth

the lens:teacher
the lens:optical instrument

the spare: spare tire
the steppe:herbaceous vegetation plain

the radio: sound apparatus, communication instrument
the radio:particular station of sound frequency.

Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)

By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
Brazil School Team

Grammar - Brazil School

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

DUARTE, Vânia Maria do Nascimento. "The noun gender and semantics"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/o-genero-substantivo-semantica.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.