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单词 sign
释义

sign

See also: šign

English

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: sīn, IPA(key): /saɪn/
  • Audio (GA)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Homophones: sine, syne
  • Rhymes: -aɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English signe, sygne, syng, seine, sine, syne, from Old English seġn (“sign; mark; token”) and Old French signe, seing (“sign; mark; signature”); both from Latin signum (“a mark; sign; token”); root uncertain. Doublet of signum. Partially displaced native token.

Noun

sign (countable and uncountable, plural signs)

A traffic sign
  1. (sometimes also used uncountably) A perceptible (e.g. visible) indication.
    Their angry expressions were a clear sign they didn't want to talk.
    Those clouds show signs of raining soon.
    Those clouds show little sign of raining soon.
    Signs of disease are objective, whereas symptoms are subjective.
    The sharp sign indicates that the pitch of the note is raised a half step.
    I gave them a thumbs-up sign.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
      Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
    • 2000, Geoffrey McGuinness; Carmen McGuinness, How to Increase Your Child's Verbal Intelligence: The Language Wise Method, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 38:
      The sound of the Orlando dinner train whistle reminds me that it ' s already Friday, an auditory sign. Another auditory sign, a distant thunder clap, warns me of limited computer time before our evening thunderstorm moves in.
  2. (Canada, US, Australia, uncountable) Physical evidence left by an animal.
    • 2015, Dave Canterbury, Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival, page 127:
      Animal sign is the key to eliminating guesswork when setting your traps. Only trap where there is sign. Sign is anything the animal leaves as a trace that indicates it may have passed through the area.
    The hunters found deer sign at the end of the trail.
  3. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
    The sign in the window advertised a room for rent.
    • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 3, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323:
      The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets.
    I missed the sign at the corner so I took the wrong turn.
  4. A wonder; miracle; prodigy.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 4:17:
      And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
  5. (astrology) An astrological sign.
    Your sign is Taurus? That's no surprise.
  6. (mathematics) Positive or negative polarity, as denoted by the + or - sign.
    I got the magnitude right, but the sign was wrong.
  7. A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages.
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
      And why not, as well as our dumbe men dispute, argue and tell histories by signes?
    • 2007, Marcel Danesi, The Quest for Meaning:
      In American Sign Language (ASL), for instance, the sign for 'catch' is formed with one hand (in the role of agent) moving across the body (an action) to grasp the forefinger of the other hand (the patient).
  8. (uncountable) Sign language in general.
    Sorry, I don't know sign very well.
  9. A semantic unit, something that conveys meaning or information (e.g. a word of written language); (linguistics, semiotics) a unit consisting of a signifier and a signified concept. (See sign (semiotics).)
    • 1692, Thomas Bennet, Short Introduction of Grammar ... of the Latine Tongue:
      A Noun substantive and a Noun adjective may be thus distinguished, that a substantive may have the sign a or the before it; as, puer, a boy, the boy; but an adjective cannot, as, bonus, good.
    • 1753, Charles Davies, Busby's English Introduction to the Latin Tongue Examined, page 11:
      A Pronoun is a Noun implying a Person, but not admitting the Sign a or the before it.
    • 2008, Eero Tarasti, Robert S. Hatten, A Sounding of Signs: Modalities and Moments in Music, Culture, and Philosophy : Essays in Honor of Eero Tarasti on His 60th Anniversary:
      And some linguistic signs, like “the”, “and” or “with”, may lack apparent objects, though they are clearly meaningful and interpretable.
  10. An omen.
    "It's a sign of the end of the world," the doom prophet said.
  11. (medicine) A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, can be detected objectively by someone other than the patient.
  12. A military emblem carried on a banner or standard.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
      The great Ensign of Messiah blaz'd Aloft by Angels born, his Sign in Heav'n.
Derived terms
  • air sign
  • Asboe-Hansen sign
  • astrological sign
  • bad sign
  • Blumberg sign
  • direction sign
  • earth sign
  • fire sign
  • give way sign
  • high sign
  • Indian sign
  • minus sign
  • neon sign
  • plus sign
  • road sign
  • signary
  • sign language
  • sign of life
  • sign of the times
  • soft sign
  • star sign
  • stop sign
  • street sign
  • traffic sign
  • vital sign
  • water sign
  • yield sign
  • signage
  • signal
  • signaletic
  • signatory
  • signature
  • signet
Translations
astrological sign — See also translations at astrological sign
sign language in general
omen — See also translations at omen
medicine: property of the body that indicates a disease
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

From Middle English signen, seinen, seinien, partly from Old English seġnian (“to mark; sign”) and partly from Anglo-Norman seigner, seiner et al., Old French signer et al., and their source Latin signāre (“to mark, seal, indicate, signify”); all from Latin signum (“a mark, sign”); see Etymology 1, above. Compare sain.

Verb

sign (third-person singular simple present signs, present participle signing, simple past and past participle signed)

  1. To make a mark
    1. (transitive, now rare) To seal (a document etc.) with an identifying seal or symbol. [from 13th c.]
      The Queen signed her letter with the regal signet.
    2. (transitive) To mark, to put or leave a mark on. [from 14th c.]
      • 1726, Elijah Fenton, The Odyssey of Homer:
        Meantime revolving in his thoughtful mind / The scar, with which his manly knee was sign'd […].
    3. (transitive) To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it. [from 15th c.]
      • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        Enquire the Iewes house out, giue him this deed, / And let him signe it […] .
    4. (transitive) More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc. [from 15th c.]
      I forgot to sign that letter to my aunt.
    5. (transitive or reflexive) To write (one's name) as a signature. [from 16th c.]
      Just sign your name at the bottom there.
      I received a letter from some woman who signs herself ‘Mrs Trellis’.
    6. (intransitive) To write one's signature. [from 17th c.]
      Please sign on the dotted line.
    7. (intransitive) To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc. [from 19th c.]
      • 2011, The Guardian, (headline), 18 Oct 2011:
        Agents say Wales back Gavin Henson has signed for Cardiff Blues.
    8. (transitive) To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract. [from 19th c.]
      It was a great month. I managed to sign three major players.
  2. To make the sign of the cross
    1. (transitive) To bless (someone or something) with the sign of the cross; to mark with the sign of the cross. [from 14th c.]
      • 1549 March 7​, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], OCLC 56485293:
        We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross.
      • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, p. 34:
        At the baptismal ceremony the child was […] signed with the cross in holy water.
    2. (reflexive) To cross oneself. [from 15th c.]
      • 1855, Robert Browning, Men and Women:
        Shaking a fist at him with one fierce arm, / Signing himself with the other because of Christ.
  3. To indicate
    1. (intransitive) To communicate using a gesture or signal. [from 16th c.]
      • 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], OCLC 742335644:
        I signed to Brown to make his retreat.
    2. (transitive) To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign.
    3. (transitive) To communicate using gestures to (someone). [from 16th c.]
      He signed me that I should follow him through the doorway.
    4. (intransitive) To use sign language. [from 19th c.]
    5. (transitive) To furnish (a road etc.) with signs. [from 20th c.]
  4. To determine the sign of
    1. (transitive) To calculate or derive whether a quantity has a positive or negative sign.
Conjugation
Conjugation of sign
infinitive(to) sign
present tensepast tense
1st-person singular sign signed
2nd-person singular sign, signest† signed, signedst†
3rd-person singular signs, signeth† signed
plural sign
subjunctive sign signed
imperative sign —
participles signing signed

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms
  • sign in
  • signing bonus
  • sign off
  • sign on
  • sign one's life away
  • sign out
  • sign over
  • sign up
  • signal
  • signature
  • signet
  • signify
Descendants
  • Scottish Gaelic: soidhn
Translations

Further reading

  • sign in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • sign in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

  • IGNs, Ings, NGIs, Sing, Sing., gins, ings, nigs, sing, sing., snig
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