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signs

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sign

  [sahyn]
Use signs in a Sentence
–noun
1. a token; indication.
2. any object, action, event, pattern, etc., that conveys a meaning.
3. a conventional or arbitrary mark, figure, or symbol used as an abbreviation for the word or words it represents.
4. a motion or gesture used to express or convey an idea, command, decision, etc.: Her nod was a sign that it was time to leave.
5. a notice, bearing a name, direction, warning, or advertisement, that is displayed or posted for public view: a traffic sign; a store sign.
6. a trace; vestige: There wasn't a sign of them.
7. an arbitrary or conventional symbol used in musical notation to indicate tonality, tempo, etc.
8. Medicine/Medical. the objective indications of a disease.
9. any meaningful gestural unit belonging to a sign language.
10. an omen; portent: a sign of approaching decadence.
11. sign of the zodiac.
12. sign language (def. 1).
13. Usually, signs. traces, as footprints, of a wild animal.
14. Mathematics.
a. a plus sign or minus sign used as a symbol for indicating addition or subtraction.
b. a plus sign or minus sign used as a symbol for indicating the positive or negative value of a quantity, as an integer.
c. multiplication sign.
d. division sign.
e. a symbol, as or !, used to indicate a radical or factorial operation.
–verb (used with object)
15. to affix a signature to: to sign a letter.
16. to write as a signature: to sign one's name.
17. to engage by written agreement: to sign a new player.
18. to mark with a sign, esp. the sign of the cross.
19. to communicate by means of a sign; signal: He signed his wish to leave.
20. to convey (a message) in a sign language.
21. Obsolete. to direct or appoint by a sign.
–verb (used without object)
22. to write one's signature, as a token of agreement, obligation, receipt, etc.: to sign for a package.
23. to make a sign or signal: He signed to her to go away.
24. to employ a sign language for communication.
25. to obligate oneself by signature: He signed with another team for the next season.
—Verb phrases
26. sign away or over, to assign or dispose of by affixing one's signature to a document: She signed over her fortune to the church.
27. sign in (or out) to record or authorize one's arrival (or departure) by signing a register.
28. sign off,
a. to withdraw, as from some responsibility or connection.
b. to cease radio or television broadcasting, esp. at the end of the day.
c. Informal. to become silent: He had exhausted conversation topics and signed off.
d. to indicate one's approval explicitly if not formally: The president is expected to sign off on the new agreement.
29. sign on,
a. to employ; hire.
b. to bind oneself to work, as by signing a contract: He signed on as a pitcher with a major-league team.
c. to start radio or television broadcasting, esp. at the beginning of the day.
d. Computers. log1 (def. 17a).
30. sign up, to enlist, as in an organization or group; to register or subscribe: to sign up for the navy; to sign up for class.
Origin:
1175–1225; (n.) ME signe < OF < L signum mark, sign, ensign, signal, image; (v.) ME signen to mark with a sign, esp. the sign of the cross < OF signer < L signāre to mark with a sign, inscribe, affix a seal to, deriv. of signum

Related forms:
signless, adjective
signlike, adjective

Synonyms:
1. trace, hint, suggestion. 1, 4. signal. 10. indication, hint, augury. Sign, omen, portent name that which gives evidence of a future event. Sign is a general word for whatever gives evidence of an event—past, present, or future: Dark clouds are a sign of rain or snow. An omen is an augury or warning of things to come; it is used only of the future, in general, as good or bad: birds of evil omen. Portent, limited, like omen, to prophecy of the future, may be used of a specific event, usually a misfortune: portents of war.
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sign language

 
–noun
1. Also called sign. any of several visual-gestural systems of communication, esp. employing manual gestures, as used among deaf people.
2. any means of communication, as between speakers of different languages, using gestures.
Origin:
1840–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To signs
sign   (sīn)   
n.  

  1. Something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality.

    1. An act or gesture used to convey an idea, a desire, information, or a command: gave the go-ahead sign.

    2. Sign language.

    3. A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business: a motel with a flashing neon sign outside.

    4. A posted notice bearing a designation, direction, or command: an EXIT sign above a door; a traffic sign.

    1. A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business: a motel with a flashing neon sign outside.

    2. A posted notice bearing a designation, direction, or command: an EXIT sign above a door; a traffic sign.

  4. A conventional figure or device that stands for a word, phrase, or operation; a symbol, as in mathematics or in musical notation.

  5. pl. sign An indicator, such as a dropping or footprint, of the trail of an animal: looking for deer sign.

  6. A trace or vestige: no sign of life.

  7. A portentous incident or event; a presage: took the eclipse as a sign from God.

  8. A body manifestation that serves to indicate the presence of malfunction or disease.

  9. 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.

  1. To affix one's signature to.

  2. To write (one's signature).

  3. To approve or ratify (a document) by affixing a signature, seal, or other mark: sign a bill into law.

  4. To hire or engage by obtaining a signature on a contract: signed a rookie pitcher for next season; sign up actors for a tour.

  5. To relinquish or transfer title to by signature: signed away all her claims to the estate.

  6. To provide with a sign or signs: sign a new highway.

  7. To communicate with a sign or signs: signed his approval with a nod.

  8. To express (a word or thought, for example) by sign language: signed her reply to the question.

  9. To consecrate with the sign of the cross.

v.   intr.

  1. To make a sign or signs; signal.

  2. To use sign language.

  3. To write one's signature.

Phrasal Verb(s):
sign inTo record the arrival of another or oneself by signing a register.
sign off

  1. To announce the end of a communication; conclude.

  2. To stop transmission after identifying the broadcasting station.

  3. Informal To express approval formally or conclusively: got the Congress to sign off on the tax proposal.

sign on

  1. Informal To enlist oneself, especially as an employee: "Retired politicians often sign on with top-dollar law firms" (New York Times).

  2. To start transmission with an identification of the broadcasting station.

sign outTo record the departure of another or oneself by signing a register.
sign upTo 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

sign  (v.)
c.1305, "to make the sign of the cross," from O.Fr. signer, from L. signare, from signum (see sign (n.)). Sense of "to mark, stamp" is attested from c.1350; that of "to affix one's name" is from 1477. Meaning "to communicate by sign language" is recorded from 1700.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

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
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sign
Pronunciation: 'sIn
Function: noun
1 : one of a set of gestures used to represent language
2 : an objectiveevidence of disease especially as observed and interpreted by the physician rather than by the patient or lay observer sign of arteriosclerosis> —see BRUDZINSKI SIGN, CHVOSTEK'S SIGN HOMANS' SIGN KERNIG SIGN, PHYSICAL SIGN, PLACENTAL SIGN, ROMBERG'S SIGN TINEL'S SIGN VITAL SIGNS, VON GRAEFE'S SIGN; —compareSYMPTOM

Main Entry: sign language
Function: noun
: a system of communicating by means of conventional chiefly manual gestures that is used especially by the deaf;especially : DACTYLOLOGY
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Science Dictionary
sign   (sīn)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A body manifestation, usually detected on physical examination or through laboratory tests or xrays, that indicates the presence of abnormality or disease. Compare symptom.

  2. See symbol. See Table at symbol.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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