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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sign       (sīn)  Pronunciation Key  n.   Something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality. An act or gesture used to convey an idea, a desire, information, or a command: gave the go-ahead sign. Sign language. A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business: a motel with a flashing neon sign outside. A posted notice bearing a designation, direction, or command: an EXIT sign above a door; a traffic sign. A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business: a motel with a flashing neon sign outside. A posted notice bearing a designation, direction, or command: an EXIT sign above a door; a traffic sign. A conventional figure or device that stands for a word, phrase, or operation; a symbol, as in mathematics or in musical notation. pl. sign An indicator, such as a dropping or footprint, of the trail of an animal: looking for deer sign. A trace or vestige: no sign of life. A portentous incident or event; a presage: took the eclipse as a sign from God. A body manifestation that serves to indicate the presence of malfunction or disease. One of the 12 divisions of the zodiac, each named for a constellation and represented by a symbol. v.   signed, sign·ing, signs v.   tr. To affix one's signature to. To write (one's signature). To approve or ratify (a document) by affixing a signature, seal, or other mark: sign a bill into law. To hire or engage by obtaining a signature on a contract: signed a rookie pitcher for next season; sign up actors for a tour. To relinquish or transfer title to by signature: signed away all her claims to the estate. To provide with a sign or signs: sign a new highway. To communicate with a sign or signs: signed his approval with a nod. To express (a word or thought, for example) by sign language: signed her reply to the question. To consecrate with the sign of the cross. v.   intr. To make a sign or signs; signal. To use sign language. To write one's signature. Phrasal Verb(s): sign in To record the arrival of another or oneself by signing a register. sign off To announce the end of a communication; conclude. To stop transmission after identifying the broadcasting station. Informal To express approval formally or conclusively: got the Congress to sign off on the tax proposal. sign on Informal To enlist oneself, especially as an employee: "Retired politicians often sign on with top-dollar law firms" (New York Times). To start transmission with an identification of the broadcasting station. sign out To record the departure of another or oneself by signing a register. sign up To agree to be a participant or recipient by signing one's name; enlist: signed up for military service; signing up for a pottery course. [Middle English signe, from Old French, from Latin signum; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.] sign'er n. Synonyms: These nouns denote an outward indication of the existence or presence of something not immediately evident. Sign is the most general: "The exile of Gaveston was the sign of the barons' triumph" (John R. Green). Symbol and emblem often refer to something associated with and standing for, representing, or identifying something else: "There was One whose suffering changed an instrument of torture, degradation and shame, into a symbol of glory, honor, and immortal life" (Harriet Beecher Stowe). "a bed of sweet-scented lillies, the emblem of France" (Amy Steedman). Badge usually refers to something that is worn as an insignia of membership, is an emblem of achievement, or is a characteristic sign: a sheriff's badge. "Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge" (Shakespeare). Mark can refer to a visible trace or impression (a laundry mark) or to an indication of a distinctive trait or characteristic: Intolerance is the mark of a bigot. Token usually refers to evidence or proof of something intangible: sent flowers as a token of her affection. Symptom suggests outward evidence of a process or condition, especially an adverse condition: bad weather that showed no symptoms of improving anytime soon. Note applies to the sign of a particular quality or feature: "the eternal note of sadness" (Matthew Arnold). See Also Synonyms at gesture.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sign  (n.)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sign  (v.)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sign
adjective
1.	used of the language of the deaf [syn: gestural]
noun
1.	a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened); "he showed signs of strain"; "they welcomed the signs of spring"
2.	a public display of a message; "he posted signs in all the shop windows"
3.	any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message; "signals from the boat suddenly stopped" [syn: signal]
4.	structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted; "the highway was lined with signboards" [syn: signboard]
5.	(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided [syn: sign of the zodiac]
6.	(medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease; "there were no signs of asphyxiation"
7.	having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges); "he got the polarity of the battery reversed"; "charges of opposite sign" [syn: polarity]
8.	an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come; "he hoped it was an augury"; "it was a sign from God" [syn: augury]
9.	a gesture that is part of a sign language
10.	a fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified; "The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary"--de Saussure
11.	a character indicating a relation between quantities; "don't forget the minus sign"
verb
1.	mark with one's signature; write one's name (on); "She signed the letter and sent it off"; "Please sign here"
2.	approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation; "All parties ratified the peace treaty"; "Have you signed your contract yet?"
3.	be engaged by a written agreement; "He signed to play the casino on Dec. 18"; "The soprano signed to sing the new opera"
4.	engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season"
5.	communicate silently and non-verbally by signals or signs; "He signed his disapproval with a dismissive hand gesture"; "The diner signaled the waiters to bring the menu"
6.	place signs, as along a road; "sign an intersection"; "This road has been signed"
7.	communicate in sign language; "I don't know how to sign, so I could not communicate with my deaf cousin"
8.	make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate [syn: bless]

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

sign

In addition to the idioms beginning with sign, see high sign; show signs of.

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sign       (sīn)  Pronunciation Key  A body manifestation, usually detected on physical examination or through laboratory tests or xrays, that indicates the presence of abnormality or disease. Compare symptom. See symbol. See Table at symbol.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sign (sīn)
n.

1. See symptom.
2. Something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality.
3. A trace or vestige, as of disease or life.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: sign
Function: transitive verb
1 : to affix a signature to : ratify or attest by hand or seal <sign a bill into law>; specifically : to write or mark something (as a signature) on (a document) as an acknowledgment of one's intention to be bound by it
2 : to assign or convey formally <signed the property over to his brother> —sign·er noun

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sign

Sign\, n. [F. signe, L. signum; cf. AS. segen, segn, a sign, standard, banner, also fr. L. signum. Cf. Ensign, Resign, Seal a stamp, Signal, Signet.] That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof. Specifically: (a) A remarkable event, considered by the ancients as indicating the will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen. (b) An event considered by the Jews as indicating the divine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the divine power for some special end; a miracle; a wonder.

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. --Rom. xv. 19.

It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. --Ex. iv. 8. (c) Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument.

What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign. --Num. xxvi. 10. (d) Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture.

The holy symbols, or signs, are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves. --Brerewood.

Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory. --Spenser. (e) A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas. (f) A motion, an action, or a gesture by which a thought is expressed, or a command or a wish made known.

They made signs to his father, how he would have him called. --Luke i. 62. (g) Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb.

Note: Educaters of the deaf distinguish between natural signs, which serve for communicating ideas, and methodical, or systematic, signs, adapted for the dictation, or the rendering, of written language, word by word; and thus the signs are to be distinguished from the manual alphabet, by which words are spelled on the fingers. (h) A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard. --Milton. (i) A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice.

The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets. --Macaulay. (j) (Astron.) The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac.

Note: The signs are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox, and are named, respectively, Aries ([Aries]), Taurus ([Taurus]), Gemini (II), Cancer ([Cancer]), Leo ([Leo]), Virgo ([Virgo]), Libra ([Libra]), Scorpio ([Scorpio]), Sagittarius ([Sagittarius]), Capricornus ([Capricorn]), {Aquarius ([Aquarius]), Pisces ([Pisces]). These names were originally the names of the constellations occupying severally the divisions of the zodiac, by which they are still retained; but, in consequence of the procession of the equinoxes, the signs have, in process of time, become separated about 30 degrees from these constellations, and each of the latter now lies in the sign next in advance, or to the east of the one which bears its name, as the constellation Aries in the sign Taurus, etc. (k) (Alg.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division /, and the like. (l) (Med.) An objective evidence of disease; that is, one appreciable by some one other than the patient.

Note: The terms symptom and and sign are often used synonymously; but they may be discriminated. A sign differs from a symptom in that the latter is perceived only by the patient himself. The term sign is often further restricted to the purely local evidences of disease afforded by direct examination of the organs involved, as distinguished from those evidence of general disturbance afforded by observation of the temperature, pulse, etc. In this sense it is often called physical sign. (m) (Mus.) Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc. (n) (Theol.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents.

An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. --Bk. of Common Prayer.

Note: See the Table of Arbitrary Signs, p. 1924.

Sign manual. (a) (Eng. Law) The royal signature superscribed at the top of bills of grants and letter patent, which are then sealed with the privy signet or great seal, as the case may be, to complete their validity. (b) The signature of one's name in one's own handwriting. --Craig. Tomlins. Wharton.

Syn: Token; mark; note; symptom; indication; signal; symbol; type; omen; prognostic; presage; manifestation. See Emblem.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sign

Sign\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Signed; p. pr. & vb. n. Signing.] [OE. seinen to bless, originally, to make the sign of the cross over; in this sense fr. ASS. segnian (from segn, n.), or OF. seignier, F. signer, to mark, to sign (in sense 3), fr. L. signare to mark, set a mark upon, from signum. See Sign, n.]

1. To represent by a sign; to make known in a typical or emblematic manner, in distinction from speech; to signify.

I signed to Browne to make his retreat. --Sir W. Scott.

2. To make a sign upon; to mark with a sign.

We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross. --Bk. of Com Prayer.

3. To affix a signature to; to ratify by hand or seal; to subscribe in one's own handwriting.

Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed, And let him sign it. --Shak.

4. To assign or convey formally; -- used with away.

5. To mark; to make distinguishable. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sign

Sign\, v. i. 1. To be a sign or omen. [Obs.] --Shak.

2. To make a sign or signal; to communicate directions or intelligence by signs.

3. To write one's name, esp. as a token of assent, responsibility, or obligation.