 Meaning determining normativism (MD normativism) is the claim that meaning is essentially such that it is (at least partially) determined by norms. This is a claim in the metaphysics of meaning, more precisely, in “foundational semantics” (Stalnaker 1997: 535). It is an answer to the question in virtue of what linguistic expressions have their meanings: Linguistic expressions cannot have meanings without norms, and the norms come first in the order of metaphysical determination or explanation. Normative facts, if you will, (at least partially) “ground” meaning  facts.[28] [29] Strong versions of MD normativism hold that MD norms also determine which meanings the expressions governed by them have.