A term used by
Jacques Derrida to
deconstruct binaries (the theoretical kind, not the kind that come in
rpms and
debs).
Différance describes the relationship between two. These two can be words, concepts, beings, or anything else that is not all-encompassing. Différance describes the relationship between signifier and signified, in the sense that they are removed from each other in actual form (i.e., they are different) and in that they are removed from each other in time and space (i.e., they are deferred). While the linguistic play and punning at work in the essay does not have its full force in translation, we can still see that différance occurs between beings, between those that are distinguishable.