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signify

[sig-nuh-fahy]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

to make known by signs, speech, or action.

to be a sign of; mean; portend.

verb (used without object)

to be of importance or consequence.

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Signify is one of our favorite verbs.

So is yaff. Does it mean:

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

to bark; yelp.

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Origin:
1200–50; Middle English signifien < Old French signifier < Latin significāre to make a sign, indicate, mention, denote. See sign, -ify

Related forms

sig·ni·fi·a·ble, adjective

un·sig·ni·fi·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. signal, express, indicate. 2. represent, indicate, denote, betoken, imply.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Signify

Example Sentences

The idea is to signify some level of unification and to spread awareness.

The protesters were symbolically chained together to signify being shackled to the interests of large farmers.

But it does not signify flat-out opposition to drastic, race-based redistribution.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

signify (ˈsɪɡnɪˌfaɪ)

—vb , -fies, -fying, -fied
1.	(tr) to indicate, show, or suggest
2.	(tr) to imply or portend: the clouds signified the coming storm
3.	(tr) to stand as a symbol, sign, etc (for)
4.	informal (intr) to be significant or important

[C13: from Old French signifier, from Latin significāre, from signum a sign, mark + facere to make]

'signifiable

—*adj*

'signifier

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

signify

mid-13c., from O.Fr. signifier (12c.), from L. significare "to show by signs, mean, signify," from significus (adj.), from signum "sign" (see sign (n.)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Intrans. sense of "to be of importance" is

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attested from 1660s. Meaning "engage in mock-hostile banter" is Amer.Eng. black slang first recorded 1932.

"...'signifying,' which in Harlemese means making a series of oblique remarks apparently addressed to no one in particular, but unmistakable in intention in such a close-knit circle." ["Down Beat," March 7, 1968]

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

signify definition

in.
to cause trouble for fun; to stir things up. (Black.) : What are all these cats signifying about anyway?
in.
to try to look more important than one really is; to brag; to strut (one's) stuff. (Black.) : See that dude signify like somebody important?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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signify

sig·ni·fy

signify definition