Referent - Potential Ambiguity

Potential Ambiguity

The term referent may sometimes be ambiguous in that it can mean the thing that refers, or the thing which is referred to. In most fields, however, it usually has the second meaning – the thing to which another thing refers.

Definition of REFERENT

one that refers or is referred to; especially : the thing that a symbol (as a word or sign) stands for. Merriam Webster

See also Wiktionary:referent and the Wikipedia article reference.

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