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signify

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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.
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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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Slang Dictionary
signify

  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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Word Origin & History

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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