What does sign mean?

What does sign mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does sign mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] 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)[v] mark with one's signature; write one's name (on)(She signed the letter and sent it off Please sign here)[a] use

sign

sign - The Free Dictionary

[n] 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)

[v] mark with one's signature; write one's name (on)
(She signed the letter and sent it off Please sign here)

[a] used of the language of the deaf

[n] a public display of a message
(he posted signs in all the shop windows)

[v] approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation
(All parties ratified the peace treaty Have you signed your contract yet?)

[n] any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
(signals from the boat suddenly stopped)

[v] be engaged by a written agreement
(He signed to play the casino on Dec. 18 The soprano signed to sing the new opera)

[n] structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted
(the highway was lined with signboards)

[v] engage by written agreement
(They signed two new pitchers for the next season)

[n] (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided

[v] 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)

[n] (medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease
(there were no signs of asphyxiation)

[v] place signs, as along a road
(sign an intersection This road has been signed)

[n] 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)

[v] communicate in sign language
(I don't know how to sign, so I could not communicate with my deaf cousin)

[n] an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come
(he hoped it was an augury it was a sign from God)

[v] make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate

[n] a gesture that is part of a sign language

[n] a fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified
(The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary)

[n] a character indicating a relation between quantities
(don't forget the minus sign)

Other vocabulary

's gravenhage, s, s wrench, s-shape, s-shaped, s. s. van dine, s. smith stevens, s.t.p., s.u.v., s/n, sa, sa node, saale, saale glaciation, saale river, saame, saami, saarinen, saba, sabah, sabahan, sabal, sabal palmetto, sabaoth, sabaton, sabayon, sabbat, sabbatarian, sabbath, sabbath school, i, i chronicles, i corinthians, i esdra, i john, i kings, i maccabees, i peter, i samuel, i thessalonians, i timothy, i-beam, i. a. richards, i. f. stone, i. m. pei, i.d., i.e., i.e.d., i.q., i.w.w., ia, iaa, iaea, iago, iamb, iambic, iambus, ian douglas smith, ian fleming, ian lancaster fleming

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.