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Referent: meaning, definitions and examples

๐Ÿ”
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referent

 

[ หˆrษ›fษ™rษ™nt ]

Noun
Context #1 | Noun

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 | Noun

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 | Noun

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:

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น referente

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ เคธเค‚เคฆเคฐเฅเคญเคฟเคค เคตเฅเคฏเค•เฅเคคเคฟ

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Bezugsperson

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ referensi

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ั€ะตั„ะตั€ะตะฝั‚

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ referent

๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต ๅ‚็…งๅ…ˆ

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท rรฉfรฉrent

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ referente

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท referans

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท ์ฐธ์กฐ์ธ

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ู…ุฑุฌุน

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ referent

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ referent

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ ๅ‚็…ง

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ referent

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ tilvรญsun

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ ัั–ะปั‚ะตะผะต

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช แƒ แƒ”แƒคแƒ”แƒ แƒ”แƒœแƒขแƒ˜

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ istinad

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ referente

Etymology

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.

See also: refer, referee, reference, referencer, referendum, referrer.

Word Frequency Rank

With rank #17,305, this word belongs to specialized vocabulary. While not common in everyday speech, it enriches your ability to express complex ideas.