exophoric
|ex-o-pho-ric|
🇺🇸
/ˌɛksoʊˈfɔrɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌeksəʊˈfɒrɪk/
refers to something outside the text
Etymology
'exophoric' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'exo-' meaning 'outside' and the element derived from Greek 'phor-' / 'phoros' meaning 'bearing' or 'carrying'.
'exophoric' developed in linguistic terminology from the noun 'exophora' (formed from 'exo-' + '-phora') and was adopted in 20th-century descriptions of reference; the adjective 'exophoric' arose to describe this type of reference.
Initially the elements meant 'outside' (exo-) and 'to carry/bring' (phor-); in linguistic use this composition came to mean 'relating to reference that points outside the discourse' and has been specialized to that sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
referring to or indicating a referent that lies outside the immediate discourse or text (i.e., reference made to something in the extralinguistic context).
In the instruction 'Put that over there,' the demonstrative is exophoric because it points to something outside the text.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/30 10:40