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signify

 [sig-nuh-fahy]   Example Sentences Origin

sig·ni·fy

   [sig-nuh-fahy] verb, sig·ni·fied, sig·ni·fy·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to make known by signs, speech, or action.
2.
to be a sign of; mean; portend.
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verb (used without object)
3.
to be of importance or consequence.

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Signify is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
chat, to converse
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
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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.
Cite This Source 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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

signify definition


  1. in.
    to cause trouble for fun; to stir things up. (Black.) : What are all these cats signifying about anyway?
  2. 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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