sign

[[t]saɪn[/t]]

n.

1) a token; indication:

Bowing is a sign of respect[/ex]

2) a conventional mark, figure, or symbol used as an abbreviation for the word or words it represents

3) a motion or gesture used to express or convey information, an idea, etc

4) an inscribed board, placard, or the like bearing a warning, advertisement, or other information and displayed for public view:

a traffic sign; a store sign[/ex]

5) a trace; vestige:

There wasn't a sign of them[/ex]

6) Usu., signs. traces, as footprints, of a wild animal

7) an omen; portent

8) an arbitrary or conventional symbol used in musical notation to indicate tonality, tempo, etc

9) med an objective indication of a disease

10) ling. any meaningful gestural unit belonging to a sign language

11) ling.

sign language 1)

12) astrol.

sign of the zodiac

13) math. a symbol, as + or =, used to indicate a mathematical operation or relation

14) to affix a signature to:

to sign a letter[/ex]

15) to write as a signature:

to sign one's name[/ex]

16) to engage or hire by written agreement (often fol. by on or up):

to sign a basketball player[/ex]

17) to mark with a sign, esp. the sign of the cross

18) to communicate by means of a sign; signal

19) ling. to convey (a message) in a sign language

20) to write one's signature, as a token of agreement, receipt, etc

21) to make a sign or signal

22) ling. to employ a sign language for communication

23) to obligate oneself by signature

24) phv sign away or over, to assign or dispose of by affixing one's signature to a document

25) phv sign in (or out), to record one's arrival (or departure) by signing a register

26) phv sign off

a) to cease radio or television broadcasting, esp. at the end of the day

b) to indicate one's approval explicitly if not formally

27) phv sign up, to enlist, as in an organization or group

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Etymology: 1175–1225; (n.) ME signe < OF < L signum mark, sign, image; (v.) ME signen < OF signer < L signāre, der. of signum sign′er, n. syn: sign, omen, portent refer to something that gives evidence of a future event. sign is a general word for a visible trace or indication of an event, either past, present, or future: Dark clouds are a sign of rain. An omen is a happening or phenomenon that serves as a warning of things to come; it may foreshadow good or evil: She believed it was a bad omen if a black cat crossed her path. portent also refers to an indication of future events, usu. ones that are momentous or of ominous significance: the portents of war.