Bezeichnerische

Bezeichnerische is an adjective form derived from the German noun Bezeichner, which means designation or label. In linguistic and philosophical discussions, bezeichnerisch describes aspects of language or expression whose primary function is to designate or name an entity or class, rather than to describe its properties.

In semantic theory, bezeichnerische expressions are those that perform the designation function. This typically includes proper names and other designators that directly refer to a referent without asserting attributes about it. By contrast, descriptive or beschreibende expressions convey information about properties or characteristics of the referent, rather than serving merely as a label.

The term is mainly used in German-language scholarly literature on semantics, philosophy of language, and related fields. It helps distinguish two broad functions of linguistic expressions: designation (bezeichnung) and description (Beschreibung). A bezeichnerischer Ausdruck would be expected to designate a referent, while a descriptive expression would attribute features or relations to that referent.

Etymology and usage notes: bezeichnerisch combines Bezeichner (designation, label) with the suffix -isch to form an attributive label. The concept is sometimes discussed alongside related notions such as Bezeichnung, Bezeichner, Denotation, and Referenz. Because terminology varies across theoretical traditions, bezeichnerische is not universally standardized and may be used with slightly different nuances in different works.

See also: Bezeichnung, Bezeichner, Denotation, Referenz, Semantik, Bedeutung.