Phatic

Phatic is an adjective that denotes language used for social interaction. The Greek word phatos (FAH tose) means ‘spoken.’ Since entering English in the 1920s, its distant relative phatic has come to mean ‘used for social interaction.’ When I asked Carly how she was doing, she gave me a long-winded answer about how she felt pretty good after a rough weekend. It was as if she didn’t understand that my question was phatic, not intended to get any actual information.