signification

American  

[sig-nuh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌsɪg nə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. meaning; import; sense.

2. the act or fact of signifying; indication.

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signification British  

/ ˌsɪɡnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. something that is signified; meaning or sense

2. the act of signifying

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Other Word Forms

• nonsignification
  noun

Etymology

Origin of signification

1250–1300; Middle English significacion (< Old French signification, significaciun ) < Latin significātiōn- (stem of significātiō ) signal, emphasis, meaning, equivalent to significāt ( us ), past participle of significāre to signify ( see -ate ¹) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Saussure held that there were structural laws that define how linguistic signification operated; the semiotics of Saussure and Pierce were the means of discovering these laws.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

The apartment signs of L.A. announce location through flair, decadence, strangeness, absurdity, signification.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2022

A National Security Council spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the U.S. “will send a signification amount of additional doses to Haiti soon,” but further details were not immediately available.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2021

Very few platinum-level artists have legacies so oversaturated with signification as the rechristened Chicks’.

From Slate • Jul. 17, 2020

She dropped him a mock courtesy, and held out her hand in token of amity, when the full signification of what she had said rushed into her mind and flooded her face with crimson.

From The King's Stratagem and Other Stories by Weyman, Stanley John