signified

[sig-nuh-fahyd]

See more synonyms for signified on Thesaurus.com

noun Linguistics.

the thing or concept denoted by a sign.

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 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. 2018

Related Words for signified

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

Examples from the Web for signified

Contemporary Examples of signified

Remember when it signified an actual ... “madwoman”, in an actual ... “attic”?
Six Fictional Marriages that Have Gone Very, Very Wrong
Jean Hanff Korelitz
March 25, 2014
To them, that “signified a lack of recovery and inability to move on.”
People Who Have Had Rebound Sex Tell Us Why It Is Awesome
Emily Shire
January 31, 2014
People wanted to know what she was wearing, not because it signified anything, but simply because it was on her back.
First Lady Fashion Fatigue
Robin Givhan
November 5, 2012
Ruth could hardly face returning to America and the failure that would have signified.
The Tragic Life of Barack Obama’s Father
Sally H. Jacobs
July 10, 2011
When the House censured Charlie Rangel yesterday, it signified a shift in how Congress does business.
Rangel's Symbolic Shaming
John Avlon
December 3, 2010

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?
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2
Henry Fielding
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

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]