semaphore
[ sem-uh-fawr, -fohr ]
/ ˈsɛm əˌfɔr, -ˌfoʊr /
noun
an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, as a light whose position may be changed.
any of various devices for signaling by changing the position of a light, flag, etc.
a system of signaling, especially a system by which a special flag is held in each hand and various positions of the arms indicate specific letters, numbers, etc.
verb (used with or without object), sem·a·phored, sem·a·phor·ing.
to signal by semaphore or by some system of flags.
Nearby words
semantic memory, semantic tableau, semantic web, semanticist, semantics, semaphore, semarang, semasiology, sematic, sematology, semblable
Origin of semaphore
Related formssem·a·phor·ic [sem-uh-fawr-ik, -for-] /ˌsɛm əˈfɔr ɪk, -ˈfɒr-/, sem·a·phor·i·cal, adjectivesem·a·phor·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for semaphore
British Dictionary definitions for semaphore
semaphore
/ (ˈsɛməˌfɔː) /
noun
an apparatus for conveying information by means of visual signals, as with movable arms or railway signals, flags, etc
a system of signalling by holding a flag in each hand and moving the arms to designated positions to denote each letter of the alphabet
verb
to signal (information) by means of semaphore
Derived Formssemaphoric (ˌsɛməˈfɒrɪk) or semaphorical, adjectivesemaphorically, adverb
Word Origin for semaphore
C19: via French, from Greek sēma a signal + -phore
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 semaphore
semaphore
"apparatus for signaling," 1816, probably via French sémaphore, literally "a bearer of signals," ultimately from Greek sema "sign, signal" (see semantic) + phoros "bearer," from pherein "to carry" (see infer). Related: Semaphoric (1808).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper