tetrapharmacon Definition

A term used in semiotics and structural linguistics introduced by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. It refers to a linguistic unit or complex of units that can be considered as a unit of meaning or speech, consisting of the signifier (the sound image) and the signified (the concept), as well as the abstract entity that can be called the 'associated signifier' and the 'association' of both the signifier and the signified, further illustrating the complexity of linguistic signs and their interrelations in communication.