Linguistics term for words that point to something in context, such as これ, それ, あれ, この, その, あの.
Japanese demonstratives have a ko-so-a-do system.
Compound of 指示 (shiji, 'pointing out, indication') and 詞 (shi, 'word, part of speech'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is a modern linguistic coinage.