Learning About Spelling

The orthographic denotation of a base is the literal or primary sense that the base carries. It comes directly from the denotation or meaning of the root (the historical word) that the base has evolved from. For example, the base <hap> has an orthographic denotation of “chance, luck” because it can be traced back to the Old Norse word happ which had those meanings.  The adjective orthographic tells us that the denotation is embedded in the orthography — the written form — of the base.

Read more about denotation and connotation here.