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Phatic

//ˈfætɪk// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Pertaining to words used to convey any kind of social relationship and whose meaning is otherwise either deemphasized or absent.

    "You needn't be angry about the insincerity of shopkeepers' how-are-you greetings. Well-adjusted people understand that the question is phatic in the context and that that's usually no problem."

Noun
  1. 1
    A phatic utterance.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Ancient Greek φατός (phatós, “spoken”) - from φημί (phēmí, “I say”) - + -ic. Probably formally influenced by emphatic, which predates this term.

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek φατός (phatós, “spoken”) - from φημί (phēmí, “I say”) - + -ic. Probably formally influenced by emphatic, which predates this term.

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