phatic

phat·ic

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [fat-ik]
- /ˈfæt ɪk/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [fat-ik]
- /ˈfæt ɪk/

Definitions of phatic word

adjective phatic denoting speech used to express or create an atmosphere of shared feelings, goodwill, or sociability rather than to impart information: phatic communion. 2
adjective phatic (of speech, esp of conversational phrases) used to establish social contact and to express sociability rather than specific meaning 0
adjective phatic of, constituting, or given to formulistic talk or meaningless sounds that are used merely to establish social contact rather than to communicate ideas 0

See all 3 definitions of phatic

Information block about the term

Origin of phatic

First appearance:

before 1923

One of the 12% newest English words

1923; probably < Greek phat(ós) spoken, capable of being spoken (verbid of phánai to speak; cf. prophet) + -ic; coined (in phrase phatic communion) by Bronislaw Malinowski

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Phatic

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Phatic

phatic popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 79% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

According to our data about 55% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

phatic usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer