---
title: semantic
framework: modelio
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Property
path: modelio/mdlmaterialproperty/semantic
---

# semantic

The semantic meaning for the material property’s value.

## Declaration

```swift
var semantic: MDLMaterialSemantic { get set }
```

## Discussion

Discussion A material semantic determines how the material property’s value should be interpreted to produce a specific surface appearance in rendering. For example, the MDLMaterialSemantic.baseColor semantic defines the default color of each pixel on a rendered surface before shading effects are applied. When Model I/O  loads materials from an MDLAsset object, it automatically selects the appropriate standard semantics for the surface rendering descriptions in the asset file.

## See Also

### Using a Material Property

- [name](modelio/mdlmaterialproperty/name.md)
- [type](modelio/mdlmaterialproperty/type.md)