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signify - 4 dictionary results

sig⋅ni⋅fy

  [sig-nuh-fahy] verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.
Use signify in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to make known by signs, speech, or action.
2. to be a sign of; mean; portend.
–verb (used without object)
3. to be of importance or consequence.
Origin:
1200–50; ME signifien < OF signifier < L significāre to make a sign, indicate, mention, denote. See sign, -ify

Related forms:
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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To signify
sig·ni·fy   (sĭg'nə-fī')   
v.   sig·ni·fied, sig·ni·fy·ing, sig·ni·fies

v.   tr.
  1. To denote; mean.
  2. To make known, as with a sign or word: signify one's intent.
v.   intr.
  1. To have meaning or importance. See Synonyms at count1.
  2. Slang To exchange humorous insults in a verbal game.

[Middle English signifien, from Old French signifier, from Latin significāre : signum, sign; see sign + -ficāre, -fy.]
sig'ni·fi'a·ble adj., sig'ni·fi'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Signify

Sig"ni*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Signified; p. pr. & vb. n. Signifying.] [F. signifier, L. significare; signum a sign + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Sign, n., and -fy.]

1. To show by a sign; to communicate by any conventional token, as words, gestures, signals, or the like; to announce; to make known; to declare; to express; as, a signified his desire to be present.

I 'll to the king; and signify to him That thus I have resign'd my charge to you. --Shak.

The government should signify to the Protestants of Ireland that want of silver is not to be remedied. --Swift.

2. To mean; to import; to denote; to betoken.

He bade her tell him what it signified. --Chaucer.

A tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. --Shak.

Note: Signify is often used impersonally; as, it signifies nothing, it does not signify, that is, it is of no importance.

Syn: To express; manifest; declare; utter; intimate; betoken; denote; imply; mean.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : signify
Spanish: significar, querer decir,
German: bedeuten,
Japanese: 意味する
More Translations »

signify 
c.1250, 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 attested from 1661. 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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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