Wiktionary

sign

See also:šign

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishsigne,sygne,syng,seine,sine,syne,fromOld Englishseġn(“sign; mark; token”)andOld Frenchsigne,seing(“sign; mark; signature”);both fromLatinsignum(“a mark; sign; token”);root uncertain.Doubletofsignum.Partially displaced nativetoken.

Noun

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sign(countableanduncountable,pluralsigns)

Atraffic sign
  1. (sometimes also used uncountably)Avisiblefactthatshowsthat somethingexistsor mayhappen.
    Synonyms:indication,evidence
    Their angry expressions were a clearsignthey didn't want to talk.
    Those clouds showsignsof raining soon.
    Those clouds show littlesignof raining soon.
    1. Anomen.
      "It's asignof the end of the world, "the doom prophet said.
    2. (medicine)Apropertyof the body that indicates adiseaseand, unlike asymptom,can be detectedobjectivelyby someone other than the patient.
      Signsof disease are objective, whereas symptoms are subjective.
  2. A mark or another symbol used to represent something.
    Synonyms:mark,marking,signal,symbol
    The sharpsignindicates that the pitch of the note is raised a half step.
    I gave them a thumbs-upsign.
    • 2000,Geoffrey McGuinness, Carmen McGuinness,How to Increase Your Child's Verbal Intelligence: The Language Wise Method,Yale University Press,→ISBN,page38:
      The sound of the Orlando dinner train whistle reminds me that it ' s already Friday, an auditorysign.Another auditorysign,a distant thunder clap, warns me of limited computer time before our evening thunderstorm moves in.
  3. (Canada,US,Australia,uncountable)Physical evidence left by an animal.
    The hunters found deersignat the end of the trail.
    • 2015,Dave Canterbury,Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival,page127:
      Animalsignis the key to eliminating guesswork when setting your traps. Only trap where there issign.Signis anything the animal leaves as a trace that indicates it may have passed through the area.
  4. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
    Thesignin the window advertised a room for rent.
    I missed thesignat the corner so I took the wrong turn.
  5. Awonder;miracle;prodigy.
  6. (astrology)Anastrological sign.
    Yoursignis Taurus? That's no surprise.
  7. (mathematics)Positive or negative polarity, as denoted by the + or - sign.
    I got the magnitude right, but thesignwas wrong.
  8. A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit insign languageequivalent towordin spokenlanguages.
    • 1603,Michel de Montaigne,chapter 12, inJohn Florio,transl.,The Essayes[…],book II, London:[…]Val[entine]SimmesforEdward Blount[…],→OCLC:
      And why not, as well as our dumbe men dispute, argue and tell histories bysignes?
    • 2007,Marcel Danesi,The Quest for Meaning:
      In American Sign Language (ASL), for instance, thesignfor 'catch' is formed with one hand (in the role of agent) moving across the body (an action) to grasp the forefinger of the other hand (the patient).
  9. (uncountable)Sign languagein general.
    Sorry, I don't knowsignvery well.
  10. Asemanticunit, something that conveys meaning or information (e.g. a word of written language);(linguistics,semiotics)a unit consisting of a signifier and a signified concept.(Seesign (semiotics).)
    • 1692,Thomas Bennet,Short Introduction of Grammar... of the Latine Tongue:
      A Noun substantive and a Noun adjective may be thus distinguished, that a substantive may have thesignaorthebefore it; as, puer,a boy, the boy;but an adjective cannot, as, bonus,good.
    • 1753,Charles Davies,Busby's English Introduction to the Latin Tongue Examined,page11:
      A Pronoun is a Noun implying a Person, but not admitting theSignaorthebefore it.
    • 2008,Eero Tarasti, Robert S. Hatten,A Sounding of Signs: Modalities and Moments in Music, Culture, and Philosophy: Essays in Honor of Eero Tarasti on His 60th Anniversary:
      And some linguisticsigns,like “the”, “and” or “with”, may lack apparent objects, though they are clearly meaningful and interpretable.
  11. Amilitaryemblemcarried on abannerorstandard.
    • 1667,John Milton,“Book VI”, inParadise Lost.[…],London:[…][Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…];[a]nd by Robert Boulter[…];[a]nd Matthias Walker,[…],→OCLC;republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books:[…],London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…],1873,→OCLC:
      The great Ensign of Messiah blaz'd Aloft by Angels born, hisSignin Heav'n.
Derived terms
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Translations
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medicine: property of the body that indicates a disease
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishsignen,seinen,seinien,partly fromOld Englishseġnian(“to mark; sign”)and partly fromAnglo-Normanseigner,seineret al.,Old Frenchsigneret al., and their sourceLatinsignāre(“to mark, seal, indicate, signify”);all fromLatinsignum(“a mark, sign”);see Etymology 1, above. Comparesain.

Verb

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sign(third-person singular simple presentsigns,present participlesigning,simple past and past participlesigned)

  1. To make a mark
    1. (transitive,nowrare)Toseal(a document etc.) with an identifying seal or symbol.[from 13th c.]
      The Queensignedher letter with the regal signet.
    2. (transitive)Tomark,to put or leave a mark on.[from 14th c.]
      • 1726,Elijah Fenton,The Odyssey of Homer:
        Meantime revolving in his thoughtful mind / The scar, with which his manly knee wassign'd[…].
    3. (transitive)Tovalidateorratify(a document) by writing one'ssignatureon it.[from 15th c.]
      • c.1596–1598(date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,(please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        Enquire the Iewes house out, giue him this deed, / And let himsigneit[…].
    4. (transitive)More generally, to write one'ssignatureon (something) as a means of identification etc.[from 15th c.]
      I forgot tosignthat letter to my aunt.
    5. (transitiveorreflexive)To write (one's name) as asignature.[from 16th c.]
      Justsignyour name at the bottom there.
      I received a letter from some woman whosignsherself ‘Mrs Trellis’.
    6. (intransitive)To write one'ssignature.[from 17th c.]
      Pleasesignon the dotted line.
    7. (intransitive)To finalise acontractualagreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc.[from 19th c.]
      • 2011,The Guardian,(headline), 18 Oct 2011:
        Agents say Wales backGavin Hensonhassignedfor Cardiff Blues.
    8. (transitive)Toengage(a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract.[from 19th c.]
      It was a great month. I managed tosignthree major players.
  2. To make the sign of the cross
    1. (transitive)Tobless(someone or something) with thesign of the cross;to mark with the sign of the cross.[from 14th c.]
    2. (reflexive)Tocrossoneself.[from 15th c.]
      • 1855,Robert Browning,Men and Women:
        Shaking a fist at him with one fierce arm, /Signinghimself with the other because of Christ.
  3. To indicate
    1. (intransitive)To communicate using agestureorsignal.[from 16th c.]
    2. (transitive)To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign.
    3. (transitive)Tocommunicateusinggesturesto (someone).[from 16th c.]
      Hesignedme that I should follow him through the doorway.
    5. (intransitive)To usesign language.[from 19th c.]
    6. (transitive)To furnish (a road etc.) with signs.[from 20th c.]
  4. To determine the sign of
    1. (transitive)To calculate or derive whether a quantity has a positive or negative sign.
Conjugation
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Conjugation ofsign
infinitive (to)sign
present tense past tense
1st-personsingularsign signed
2nd-personsingular sign,signest† signed,signedst†
3rd-personsingular signs,signeth† signed
plural sign
subjunctive sign signed
imperative sign —
participles signing signed
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Scottish Gaelic:soidhn
Translations
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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