The Meaning of Sharks

Some words have an actual concrete item or concept (idea, action, or state of being) that the word refers to--its referent.  The referential meaning of a word is its definition.

See, for example, shark at left.

Some words refer to prevaricated things such as the Land Shark.  (Click here to see a clip from the Saturday Night Live Sketch.)

Some words take on an entirely different meaning when they are combined in an idiomatic expression such as "jumping the shark."  (See the video below at left, which shows the Fonz jumping the shark.)