Denotation
Etymology
From Latin denotare, "to mark out, point out," from de- (here intensive) + notare ("to mark"), from nota ("a mark, sign"). The plain sense is of pointing directly at a thing. That is exactly its modern job: denotation names the referent itself, the object or idea a word literally designates.
noun · /dee-noh-TAY-shun/
The literal, definitional thing a word points to, stripped of any emotional coloring.
What it names
The stable core of a word’s meaning — the part you could look up — as opposed to the shifting halo of associations around it.
Example
By strict denotation a "weed" is just a plant growing where it isn’t wanted; the scorn is all connotation.
Related idea
Connotation is the emotional and cultural baggage a word carries; denotation is the bare thing it names. Both spring from the same Latin root, notare, "to mark."