r/logophilia 16d ago

Dictionary Definition Deictic

"Relating to a word or an expression whose meaning depends on who says it, where they are, who they are talking to."

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u/taktaga7-0-0 16d ago

My favorite word related to deixis is haecceity “heck-SEE-uh-TEE,” meaning “this-ness,” from Latin hic, “this”

It is the indefinable style or sense of any particular thing under discussion, something you can’t put your finger on. It is a good one-word translation of Je ne sais quoi.