English
significant
Significant comes from Latin significāns, participle of significō ‘to signify’, from signum ‘sign’ + -ficō ‘make’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom1‘sign’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum2‘sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificō2‘to signify’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificāns2‘signifying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591significant2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin signum
- 2 Wiktionary, English significant
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, Latin signum‘sign’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignumWiktionary, English significant‘sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificōWiktionary, English significant‘to signify’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificānsWiktionary, English significant‘signifying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591significantWiktionary, English significant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
saw, sex, risk, section, ship, sexual, segment, sack, insect, sawyer, scarlet, designation, sax, het, shingle, dissect, sickle, scythe, seg, sedge, sich, desiccation, brassica, assignation, desiccant, 52 more
through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’
design, resign, sealing, assign, consign, 18 more
through Latin signum ‘sign’
seal, signal, ensign, insignia, signet, sain, sigil, 12 more
Today it means
adj Signifying something; carrying meaning.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “significant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin signum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *segnom / significant