Phatic
Etymology
Coined by the anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in 1923 in the phrase "phatic communion," from Greek "phatos" (spoken) / "phanai" (to speak). He used it for the small talk that binds people together socially.
adjective · /FAT-ik/
Describing speech whose purpose is social connection rather than conveying information.
What it names
A precise handle for talk that means nothing and does everything — "how’s it going," "cold enough for you" — words that maintain a relationship rather than transmit content.
Example
His "we should grab coffee sometime" was purely phatic — a warm noise, not an actual plan.
Related idea
Phatic language sits opposite the referential function of speech, which exists to carry real information; the phatic exchange carries goodwill instead.