Does it link words to pictures in your mind? So there is a mapping from the word “owl” to a picture of an owl in your head?
Can I also add that I don’t think this mapping involves word definitions, so for example the word owl won’t map to the word definition of an owl since you need to define words in the definition itself. This causes a never ending chain as you keep having to define words in further definitions.
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There is some evidence that it’s stored in a “tree” like structure, where the root node of the tree is the word “thing” and it subdivides from there. See https://wordnet.princeton.edu/
This is why it’s easier to remember “animal” than “owl” or “dog”. It’s also why when you can’t remember you start out with “it’s a thing that does …” or “it’s a plant that’s…” etc.
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