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signified

[sig-nuh-fahyd]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR signified ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Linguistics.

the thing or concept denoted by a sign.

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Welcome to the second installment in our series on Ferdinand de Saussure and the linguistic science of semiology. Now where were we? In the last post we discussed Saussure’s theory of the “sign” as a combination of the “signified” (the concept represented by a word) and the “signifier” (the spoken or written word doing the representing). According to Saussure, the relationship between the concept and …
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RELATED WORDS

represent, suggest, spell, portend, imply, manifest, convey, bespeak, symbolize, proclaim, mean, exhibit, show, sign, denote, evince, carry, connote, flash, insinuate
Compare signifier.

Origin of signified

First recorded in 1630–40; signify + -ed2
Related formsun·sig·ni·fied, adjective

signify

[sig-nuh-fahy]

verb (used with object), sig·ni·fied, sig·ni·fy·ing.

to make known by signs, speech, or action.
to be a sign of; mean; portend.

verb (used without object), sig·ni·fied, sig·ni·fy·ing.

to be of importance or consequence.

Origin of signify

1200–50; Middle English signifien < Old French signifier < Latin significāre to make a sign, indicate, mention, denote. See sign, -ify
Related formssig·ni·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·sig·ni·fi·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for signify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR signify ON THESAURUS.COM
1. signal, express, indicate. 2. represent, indicate, denote, betoken, imply.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for signified

Contemporary Examples of signified

Historical Examples of signified

  • Their names often signified some quality of a horse; as Leucippus, a white horse, &c.

    Philothea

    Lydia 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?

  • Then, with a wave of his hand, he signified to the boys to run out and play games.

    Welsh Fairy Tales

    William Elliott Griffis

  • She signified her helplessness with a quick and dainty movement of her hands.

    The Black Bag

    Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for signified

signify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (when tr, may take a clause as object)

(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
Derived Formssignifiable, adjectivesignifier, noun

Word Origin for signify

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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