It is common to translate the German word 'Sinn' as meaning. However, the reader should be aware that the German word does not directly include the notion of meaning and signification. In this context, one could say that Sinn precedes meaning or that meaning results from Sinn. For Luhmann Sinn refers to the phenomenal conception of the horizon of possibilities.

DEFINE: Clarifies that Luhmann's Sinn is not equivalent to 'meaning' but refers to a phenomenal horizon of possible selections. QUESTION: Worth chasing how 'Sinn precedes meaning' operationalizes in Luhmann's systems theory — what does the horizon-of-possibilities framing do analytically?

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 83