Symbols can have two types of meaning--Denotative and Connotative.
Denotative Meaning is the meaning of an symbol that is shared by a group of people. If you say the word,"dog," most English speakers will point to the same type of animal. Denotative meaning is what makes symbols work for communication.
Connotative Meaning is the meaning of a symbol that is personal to an individual and not shared. For example, when I was a young child, my father was the warden of a small 3 cell prison located in the Montana wasteland near the Canadian border.
The two prison guards, who were generally bored would invite me to play "King" for a day.
I would sit in their chair and then they would put this wired helmet (they called it a crown) on me and then flip this little switch. It was a shocking experience.
Consequently now, when people say to me, "Would you like a chair," I am majorly disgusted. "What's the matter?" they say, "Its only a chair."