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referent

Syllabification: (ref·er·ent)
Pronunciation: /ˈref(ə)rənt/
Definition of referent

noun

Linguistics
  • the thing that a word or phrase denotes or stands for:“the Morning Star” and “the Evening Star” have the same referent (the planet Venus)

Origin:

mid 19th century: from Latin referent- 'bringing back', from the verb referre (see refer)

referent in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of referent in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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