Definition: semantic features are components of concepts associated with lexical items or grammatical units.
The semantic features of a word can be notated using a binary feature. A semantic property is usually specified in square brackets and a plus (+) or minus (−) sign and it indicates the presence or absence of that property as indicated in the examples below:

• cat is
  • [+animate],
  • [+domesticated],
  • [+feline]
• puma is
  • [+animate],
  • [−domesticated],
  • [+feline]
• dog is
  • [+animate],
  • [+domesticated],
  • [−feline]
• wolf is
  • [+animate],
  • [−domesticated]
  • [−feline]

Syntax Vs. Semantics

The hamburger ate the boy.

• This sentence is syntactically good, but semantically odd.
• Since the sentence The boy ate the hamburger is perfectly acceptable, we may be able to identify the source of the problem.
• The kind of noun that can be the subject of the verb “ate” must denote an entity that is capable of “eating.”
• The noun” hamburger” does not have this property, but the noun “boy” does.
• Such an element may be as general as “animate being.”
• We can then use this idea to describe part of the meaning of words as either having (+) or not having (−) that particular feature. So, the feature that the noun “boy”  has is “+animate” and the feature that the noun “hamburger” has is “−animate.”

Another couple of  examples:

1. *The door kicked the boy. X
2. *The computer died. X

• Door and computer lack the crucial features that are required to kick and die.
• Only living entities can perform the actions of kicking and dying.

Semantic Features Analysis Grid

Semantic features analysis is performed using a grid like the one below that shows the semantic features analysis of “ King” and “ Prince”

If we had to provide the crucial distinguishing features of the meanings of a set of English words such as chair, donkey, boy, man, girl, woman, we could show this through the grid below.

We can also characterize the feature that is crucially required in a noun in order for it to appear as the subject of a particular verb, supplementing the syntactic analysis with semantic features. We can then predict which nouns (e.g. chair, donkey, hamburger) would make the sentence below semantically odd.

The _____________ is reading the newspaper.

Noun [+human]

The answer could be: The man/ The woman/ The boy etc.

In conclusion, semantic features are utilized in the field of linguistic semantics, particularly in lexical semantics and lexicology, to explain word meaning by analyzing the relationships between words and their internal semantic structures. Semantic features help categorize words into semantic domains based on shared features. (Also, see Essay No. 3 Semantic Roles/)

References

• George Yule (2014) The Study of Language (5th ed.) Cambridge University Press
•  Fromkin, Victoria; Rodman, Robert; Hyams, Nina (2014) An Introduction to Language (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
• Semantic feature - Wikipedia
• An Introduction to Semantics (linguisticsnetwork.com)