referential
adj/ɹɛfəˈɹɛnʃəl/
Etymology From reference + -ial.
1
Of a word or phrase applied to a particular person, place, or thing and not to any other.
2
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Of or relating to a referent.
- Thus, the referential location of “town” in an utterance “Went to town”, is simply to be conceived as that location which might also be referred to by “there”, “the place we visited last Thursday”, “your birthplace”, etc.2011, James Dickins, Extended Axiomatic Linguistics, Walter de Gruyter, page 108:
3
Of or relating to reference or allusion.
- Above all, the referential approach has proved durable and especially flexible.1990, Gerald Mead, “The Representation of Fictional Character”, in Style, volume 24, number 3, Penn State UP, →JSTOR, page 441:
- In the first place, it must be pointed out that the bond with the past is inferential rather than referential.1991, David Herzberger, “Social Realism and the Contingencies of History in the Contemporary Spanish Novel”, in Hispanic Review, volume 59, number 2, U of Pennsylvania P, →JSTOR, page 161:
4
Serving as a reference.
- Derived terms
- autoreferential, coreferential, coreferentiality, coreferentially, interreferential, irreferential, metareferential, multireferential, nonreferential, referential integrity, referentialism, referentialist, referentiality, referentially, referential opacity, referential transparency, self-referential