See Also: V-sign(dictionary)
Sign(health)
Big toe sign(health)
re-sign(dictionary)
sign(1)(dictionary)
sign(2)(dictionary)
fan sign(medicine)
sign(encyclopedia)
V sign(dictionary)
plus sign(dictionary)

sign(1) (iou)



sign noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French signe from Latin signum mark, token.]
I.
A gesture, esp. with the hand or head, used to convey information, give an order or request, etc.; spec. any of the gestures comprising a system of sign language. Also, an agreed gesture used as a password. ME.
J. Gardner He didn't answer, made..a confused sign with his head.
b. A signal. E17.
Shakespeare Julius Caesar Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle?
c. Sign language; spec. (Sign) = American Sign Language s.v. AMERICAN adjective. L20.
gen. A mark, symbol, or device used to represent something or distinguish the object on which it is put. ME.
I. Fleming There was a sign tattooed in red on the skin.
b. A mark of attestation or ownership written or stamped on a document etc. LME-E17.
c. A conventional symbol used in music, algebra, etc., in place of a word or words. M16.
Personal Software When entering the program replace..'' signs with '' signs.
d. Math. That aspect of a quantity which consists in being either positive or negative. E19.
e. Chiefly Linguistics. A basic element of communication, either linguistic (a written or spoken word) or non-linguistic (an image, article of clothing, etc.), consisting of two indivisible elements the relation between which is arbitrary (signifiant and signifie), and which derives its meaning only from its relationship to other signs within the same sign-system. Cf. SIGNIFIANT, SIGNIFIe. M20.
An identifying banner or standard (long obsolete exc. poet.). Formerly also, a badge, an insignia. LME.
A board or other device outside a shop, hotel, etc., to distinguish its name or identify its function; gen. any publicly displayed board or advice giving information or directions. LME.
signpost etc.
Sir W. Scott An appointment to meet..at the sign of the Griffin. T. McGuane Then the intersection of A1A and the sign to Key West. E. Jong As soon as the seat-belt sign goes off..I glance around nervously.
An image; an effigy. LME-L16.
II.
An indication or suggestion of a present state, fact, quality, etc.; evidence; a trace, a vestige, (freq. with neg.). Freq. foll. by of, that. ME.
B. Webb The P. M. has shown signs, throughout the contest, of neurosis. New York Review of Books Signs that the British..have become more reconciled to..the European Community. J. Johnston There was no sign of life at the hut.
b. The trail or trace of a wild animal. US. L17.
c. Medicine. An objective indication of disease, as opp. to a subjective one (cf. SYMPTOM 1). Freq. with prefixed name of a person who associated an indication with a particular disease, as Hoffman's sign, etc. M19.
a. An indication or suggestion of a future state or occurrence; an omen, a portent. ME.
A. Uttley Tom..scanned the sky and read the weather signs. M. Tippett It is a hopeful sign.
b. A miracle as evidence of supernatural power or authority. ME.
A. Mason God gave many signs..by healing, and the casting-out of demons.
Each of the twelve equal parts into which the zodiac is divided; = sign of the ZODIAC. ME.
W. Trevor Born beneath Gemini, the sign of passion.
b. A constellation. rare. LME-E17.
Phrases: high sign: see HIGH adjective, adverb, & noun. in sign of, in sign that as a token or indication of or that. make no sign seem unconscious; not protest. minus sign: see MINUS noun 1. outward visible sign Theology the sacrament as the outward symbol of inner grace etc. plus sign: see PLUS noun 1. sign of the cross: see CROSS noun 4. sign of the times an indication or typical example of current trends. sign of the ZODIAC.
Comb.: sign bit Computing a sign digit located in a sequence of binary digits; signboard (a) a board displaying the sign of a shop, inn, or other business; (b) (chiefly US) a board on a guidepost displaying a sign to direct travellers etc; sign digit Computing a digit, located in a sequence of digits, whose value depends on the algebraic sign of the number represented; sign language a system of communication by visual gesture, used esp. by the deaf; sign-painter a person employed to paint signs for shops etc.; sign stimulus Biology the component or characteristic of an external stimulus which is effective in initiating a particular innate behavioural response in an animal perceiving it, regardless of the presence or absence of the remainder of the stimulus; sign-vehicle Sociology an object, letter, etc., that acts as a sign or symbol; sign-writer = sign-painter above.
signage noun (N. Amer.) signs collectively, esp. commercial or public display signs L20.
signed adjective1 (Math.) having a (plus or minus) sign; esp. in
signed number, a positive or negative integer: L19.
signless adjective (a) without a sign, having no sign; (b) making no sign; (c) Math. of a quantity: having no sign of direction; having no distinction of positive or negative; L17.