signified
[sig-nuh-fahyd]
- the thing or concept denoted by a sign.
Compare signifier.
Origin of signified
signify
[sig-nuh-fahy]
- to be of importance or consequence.
Origin of signify
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. signal, express, indicate. 2. represent, indicate, denote, betoken, imply.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for signified
Contemporary Examples
Remember when it signified an actual ... “madwoman”, in an actual ... “attic”?
To them, that “signified a lack of recovery and inability to move on.”
People wanted to know what she was wearing, not because it signified anything, but simply because it was on her back.
Ruth could hardly face returning to America and the failure that would have signified.
When the House censured Charlie Rangel yesterday, it signified a shift in how Congress does business.
Historical Examples
Their names often signified some quality of a horse; as Leucippus, a white horse, &c.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
She told me, It signified nothing to talk: I knew the expectation of every one.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
What signified it whether you was married in a red or a yellow waistcoat?
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2Henry Fielding
Then, with a wave of his hand, he signified to the boys to run out and play games.
Welsh Fairy TalesWilliam Elliott Griffis
She signified her helplessness with a quick and dainty movement of her hands.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
signify
- (tr) to indicate, show, or suggest
- (tr) to imply or portendthe clouds signified the coming storm
- (tr) to stand as a symbol, sign, etc (for)
- (intr) informal to be significant or important
Word Origin
C13: from Old French signifier, from Latin significāre, from signum a sign, mark + facere to make
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for signified
signify
v.
late 13c., "be a sign of, indicate, mean," from Old French signifier (12c.), from Latin significare "to make signs, show by signs, point out, express; mean, signify; foreshadow, portend," from significus (adj.), from signum "sign" (see sign (n.)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Intransitive sense of "to be of importance" is attested from 1660s. Meaning "engage in mock-hostile banter" is American English black slang first recorded 1932.
...'signifying,' which in Harlemese means making a series of oblique remarks apparently addressed to no one in particular, but unmistakable in intention in such a close-knit circle. ["Down Beat," March 7, 1968]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper