Exophoric

/ˌɛksəˈfɔrɪk/ adjective

Definition

Relating to exophoria, or describing a linguistic reference that points to something outside the text or conversation being discussed.

Etymology

From 'exophoria' with the adjectival suffix '-ic'. In linguistics, this term also describes how words like pronouns can refer to things beyond the immediate discourse.

Kelly Says

When someone says 'Hand me that!' and points at something you can both see, that's exophoric reference—the meaning points outside the conversation itself, unlike 'he' or 'she' which get their meaning from words earlier in the text.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.