Referent: meaning, definitions and examples

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referent

[ ˈrɛfərənt ]

^{Context #1}

in linguistics

A word or phrase which provides the identity of an entity to which a word or phrase refers.

Synonyms

entity, object, subject

Examples of usage

The word 'cat' is the referent for the furry animal with whiskers and a tail.
In the sentence 'She loves her car', 'car' is the referent for the vehicle she loves.

^{Context #2}

in legal context

A person or thing to which a legal document or contract refers.

Synonyms

entity, individual, subject

Examples of usage

The referent in this contract is the buyer of the property.
The referent of the power of attorney document is the designated agent.

^{Context #3}

in academic writing

A source that is referred to or cited in a scholarly work.

Synonyms

citation, reference, source

Examples of usage

The referent for this information can be found in the bibliography.
The author acknowledged the referent of his research in the footnotes.

Translations

Translations of the word "referent" in other languages:

🇵🇹 referente

🇮🇳 संदर्भित व्यक्ति

🇩🇪 Bezugsperson

🇮🇩 referensi

🇺🇦 референт

🇵🇱 referent

🇯🇵 参照先

🇫🇷 référent

🇪🇸 referente

🇹🇷 referans

🇰🇷 참조인

🇸🇦 مرجع

🇨🇿 referent

🇸🇰 referent

🇨🇳 参照

🇸🇮 referent

🇮🇸 tilvísun

🇰🇿 сілтеме

🇬🇪 რეფერენტი

🇦🇿 istinad

🇲🇽 referente

Word origin

The word 'referent' originates from the Latin word 'referent-' (stem of referens), present participle of referre meaning 'to refer'. The term was first used in the early 20th century in the field of linguistics to describe the entity to which a linguistic expression refers. Over time, its usage expanded to legal documents and academic writing, where it signifies the entity being referred to or cited.