countersign

[noun, verb koun-ter-sahyn; verb koun-ter-sahyn]

noun

a sign used in reply to another sign.
Military. a secret sign that must be given by authorized persons seeking admission through a guarded area.
a signature added to another signature, especially for authentication.

verb (used with object)

to sign (a document that has been signed by someone else), especially in confirmation or authentication.

Origin of countersign

1585–95; counter- + sign, modeled on Middle French contresigne, or its source, Old Italian contrasegno

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for countersigned

authorize, certify, corroborate, signature, confirm, sign, mark, watchword, seal, password

Examples from the Web for countersigned

Historical Examples of countersigned

My request was countersigned by Clotilde, and this was irresistible.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 360, October 1845
Various
The ministers, one after another, countersigned the ordinances.
Louis Philippe
John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
The whole was signed by the king's own hand and countersigned by the cardinal.
Lord Montagu's Page
G. P. R. James
This evidence was also taken down and signed and countersigned.
The Humour and Pathos of Anglo-Indian Life
Dr. Ticklemore
The decree was signed by Charles and countersigned by Aranda and then sent out.
The Jesuits, 1534-1921
Thomas J. Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for countersigned

countersign

verb (ˈkaʊntəˌsaɪn, ˌkaʊntəˈsaɪn)

(tr) to sign (a document already signed by another)

noun (ˈkaʊntəˌsaɪn)

Also called: countersignature the signature so written
a secret sign given in response to another sign
mainly military a password

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for countersigned

countersign

1590s, from Middle French contresigne, from contre- "against" (see contra-) + signe "sign" (see sign (n.)).