indexical en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɪnˈdɛk.sɪ.kəl/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Old Latin en Latin in Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti Proto-Italic *deikō Latin dīcō Proto-Indo-European *-s Latin -s Latin indexder. English index Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English indexical From index + -ical.
Meanings
- Of, pertaining to, or like, an index; having the form of an index.
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Having or imparting a meaning, or signifying a referent, that changes according to context.
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”, in London Review of Books, volume 34, number 21:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more indexical | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most indexical | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
indexicality · indexically · socioindexical · indexicalist · indexicalism · nonindexical · indexicalisation