indexical
English
Etymology
Adjective
indexical (comparative more indexical, superlative most indexical)
- Of, pertaining to, or like, an index; having the form of an index.
- (linguistics, philosophy) Having the character of pointing to, or indicating, a particular state of affairs.
- 2012, Michael Silverstein, ‘The [] walked down the street’, London Review of Books, vol. 34 no. 21:
- In order that they might represent the worlds of experience and imagination, such symbols have to be put together with ‘indexical’ signs, as Peirce termed them, such as articles (the, some), demonstratives (this, those), tense-inflections (walk-s, walk-ed), moods (may/might walk, shall/should walk) etc.
- 2012, Michael Silverstein, ‘The [] walked down the street’, London Review of Books, vol. 34 no. 21:
Usage notes
- Nouns to which "indexical" is often applied: expression, sign, reference.
Derived terms
Noun
indexical (plural indexicals)
- (linguistics, philosophy) An indexical statement.
- 2007 August 15, Wayne A. Davis, “Replies to Green, Szabó, Jeshion, and Siebel”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 137, number 3, :
- So even with indexicals, there is a Sinn for every meaning.
Further reading
- Indexicality on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “indexical”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Indexicals in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy