n (logic|linguistics|semiotics) The primary, literal, or explicitmeaning of a word, phrase, or symbol; that which a word denotes, as contrasted with its connotation; the aggregate or set of objects of which a word may be predicated.
n (computer science) Any mathematical object which describes the meanings of expressions from the languages, formalized in the theory of denotational semantics
n (context|media-studies) A first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor.