Meanings
- not comparableBlackfoot languagehuman sciencesDescribing an inflection that conveys the lack of referentiality, turning the referential noun non-referring.
1 more example
For example, you might send a son or daughter to a story with the following insteuctions: "Get a loaf of bread, some milk and a dozen apples". You don't have any particular loaf of bread, carton(s) of milk or dozen apples in mind, so the nouns "bread", "milk" and "apples" do not refer to any particular items. Or you may use a noun in such a way that it cannot refer to an actual entity. This would be true in sentences such as "I don't have any milk" or "I wish you had some apples". In either way, we say the words "milk" and "apple" are non-referring.
1989, Donald G Frantz, Blackfoot GrammarSynonyms: non-referential, non-particular
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveDescribing an inflection that conveys the lack of referentiality, turning the referential noun non-referring.
Origin
From non- + refering, coined by American linguist Donald G Frantz.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
non-referring. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-referring
“non-referring.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-referring. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “non-referring,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-referring.
Source: non-referring on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.