signifer
English
Etymology
From Latin signifer , from signum (“sign”) + ferō (“to bear”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɪɡnɪfə(ɹ)/
Adjective
signifer (not comparable)
- (obsolete) Bearing signs.
- 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the VVorld. Commonly Called, The Natvrall Historie of C. Plinivs Secvndus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, OCLC 1180792622:
- the circle called Signifer, or the Zodiake
-
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for signifer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)
Anagrams
- fire sign
Latin
Etymology
From sīgnum (“sign”) + -fer (“carrying”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈsiɡ.ni.fer/, [ˈs̠ɪŋnɪfɛr]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈsiɲ.ɲi.fer/, [ˈsiɲːifer]
Adjective
signifer (feminine signifera, neuter signiferum); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)
- sign-bearing, image-bearing,
- bearing the heavenly signs or constellations, starry
- "sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam." (But may the sign-bearer, Saint Michael, lead them into the holy light)
Declension
First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | signifer | signifera | signiferum | signiferī | signiferae | signifera | |
| Genitive | signiferī | signiferae | signiferī | signiferōrum | signiferārum | signiferōrum | |
| Dative | signiferō | signiferō | signiferīs | ||||
| Accusative | signiferum | signiferam | signiferum | signiferōs | signiferās | signifera | |
| Ablative | signiferō | signiferā | signiferō | signiferīs | |||
| Vocative | signifer | signifera | signiferum | signiferī | signiferae | signifera | |
Descendants
- Catalan: signífer
- Spanish: signífero
Noun
signifer m (genitive signiferī); second declension
- standard-bearer, sign-bearer, ensign
- 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.585-586:
- signa, decus bellī, Parthus Rōmāna tenēbat,
Rōmānaeque aquilae signifer hostis erat.- The Roman [military] standards – the glory of war – a Parthian was holding, and the standard-bearer of the Roman eagle was an enemy.
(See: Phraates V; aquilifer; signifer.)
- The Roman [military] standards – the glory of war – a Parthian was holding, and the standard-bearer of the Roman eagle was an enemy.
- signa, decus bellī, Parthus Rōmāna tenēbat,
- leader, chief
- the sky, heavens
Declension
Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | signifer | signiferī |
| Genitive | signiferī | signiferōrum |
| Dative | signiferō | signiferīs |
| Accusative | signiferum | signiferōs |
| Ablative | signiferō | signiferīs |
| Vocative | signifer | signiferī |
Descendants
- Catalan: signífer
- Italian: signifero
- Portuguese: signífero
References
- “signifer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “signifer”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- signifer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- the zodiac: orbis signifer
- the zodiac: orbis signifer