signification

[Fr., from Lat. significa tionem, acc us. of significatio, from sign if i cat us, pa. par. of sign i fico to signify (q. v.); Sp. significa cion; Ital. sign if i caz i one.] 1. The act of signifying; the act of making known by signs or other intelligible means. "For all speaking, or signification of one's mind im. plies an act or addre of one man to another."-South. 2. That which is signified or expre ed by signs or words; meaning, import, sense; that which a per son by a sign intends to convey, or that which a sign is commonly understood to convey. By custom certain signs or gestures have acquired a determined signification, and so also with figures, algebraic characters, . *3. That which signifies; a sign. sig-nif-1-ca-tive, a. [Fr. sign if i cat if.] 1. Betokening or representing by an external sign. "The holy symbols or signs are not barely significa tive."-Brere wood. 2. Having signification or meaning; expre ive of a meaning; significatory, significant. "Neither in the degrees of kindred were they destitute of significative words."- Camden : Remains; Languages. sig-nif-i-ca-tive-ly, adv . [Eng. significative : -ly.] In a significative manner; so as to betoken by an external sign; significantly. "This sentence must either be taken tropically, that bread may be the body of Christ significatively , or else it is plainly absurd and impo ible." - Usher: Answer to Malone , p. 190. sig-nif-i-ca-tive-ne , s . [Eng. significative ; -ne . The quality or state of being significative. sig-nif-1-ca-tor, s. [Lat.] One who or that which signifies or inakes known by signs, words, . "They are principall significators of manners." -Burton: Anat. of Melancholy , p. 190. sig-nif-i-ca-tor-ỹ, a. & s. [Lat. significator i us.] A. As adj .: Having signification or meaning; signiticative. B. As subst.: That which signifies, betokens, or represents. "Here is a double significatory of the spirit, a word and a sign."-Taylor. *sig-ni-fi-ca-vit, s. [Lat., 3d pers. sing. perf. indic. of sign i fico =to signify (q. v.).] Eccles . Law : A writ, now obsolete, i uing out of Chancery upon certificate given by the ordinary of a man's standing excommunicate by the space of forty days, for t the keeping him in prison till he submit himself to the authority of the Church. ( Whar ton.) sig-ni-fy,*sig-ni-fie,*syg-ny-fye, v . t . & i . [Fr. signifier ; from Lat. sign i fico to show by signs: signum a sign, and facio to make; Sp. & Port. sign if i car ; Ital. sign if i care .] A. Transitive : 1. To make known by signs or words; to expre , convey, or communicate to another by words, signs, gestures, or the like. "Nobody ever saw one animal by its gestures and natural cries signify to another, this is mine, that yours; Iam willing to give this for that."- Smith : Wealth of Nations , bk. i., ch. ii. 2. To give notice of; to announce, to declare, to impart. "This he found, and signified the same by signal."Cook: Second Voyage , bk. i., ch. iii. 3. To mean, to import, to denote; to have the meaning or sense of. "A tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." Shakesp.: Macbeth , v. 5. IMG:content-1453.png:[blocks in formation] 1. To be of consequence or importance, to matter; as. It does not signify whether you go or not. *2. To expre meaning with force. "For if the words be but becoming, and signifying , and the sense gentle, there is juyce." -Ben Jonson: Discov. eries.