C.S Pierce

Icon – Something that physically resembles a thing or an idea.

Index – Something that has a direct relation to a thing or idea.

Symbol – Something that society decides should have a link to something else, no actual relation.

Roland Barthes

Signification – The representation and conveying of meaning.

Denotation – A a fixed, objective and literal interpretation of a thing or idea.

Connotation – An abstract interpretation of a term, creating commonly understood associations with things.

Myth – Ideas which are commonly believed and spread by people, which are often untrue or only partly true.

Ideology – Systems of ideas which often form the basis of how society should function.

Radical – Something which challenges stereotypical ideas and is out of the ordinary.

Reactionary – Something which is expected, follows and confirms usual stereotypes and is easy to relate to.

Semiotics

Sign – Something which stands for something else.

Code – Something used to construct meaning in media forms.

Convention – The commonly accepted way of doing something.

Dominant Signifier – The main thing which stands in for something else.

Anchorage – Words which go with images to convey meaning or context.

Ferdinand de Saussure

Signifier – The real and literal existence of an object or feeling.

Signified – The mental link to a concept formed by human society.

Paradigm – A collection of similar signs.

Syntagym – A sequence of signs, with the idea of one sign linking and connecting to another in a certain order.