Designative

Designative is an adjective used in linguistics and philosophy of language to describe a function of expressions that serves to designate or name a referent, rather than to attribute a property to a subject. In this sense, designative content identifies the thing being talked about, while predicative content ascribes qualities to that thing. The term derives from the verb designare (to designate) with the suffix -ive.

In linguistic analysis, designative uses are common with proper names (for example, Paris), demonstratives (this, that in appropriate contexts), and indexicals (here, now) that primarily fix reference. These expressions can be contrasted with predicative uses, which express properties such as “is large” or “is intelligent.” Some expressions can bear both functions, depending on context, but the designative reading emphasizes reference rather than descriptive content.

The concept appears in discussions of reference, designation, and the semantics of names, as well as in debates between referential and descriptive theories of proper names. It also intersects with analyses of how discourse identifies and tracks entities across sentences and over time, including the role of context in maintaining reference.

See also: reference, designation, referential expression, proper name, indexical, demonstrative, semantics.