In grammar, referring to words like 'this,' 'that,' 'here,' 'there,' or pronouns that point to something in the immediate context rather than naming it directly.
From Greek deiktikos (pointed out, from deiknynai, to show). This linguistic term entered English from 1840s onwards to describe words that 'point to' rather than 'name' their referents.
When you say 'I want this,' the meaning only makes sense because of context—deictic words are context-dependent, which is why computers struggle with language understanding because they miss the pointing.
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