Etymograph

English

signification

Signification comes from Latin significātiō ‘signal, sign, mark, token’, from significō ‘to show, express, signify, point out’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom1‘sign’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum2‘token, sign’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificō3‘to show, express, signify, point out’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificātiō4‘signal, sign, mark, token’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400significacion4
  6. Englishtodaysignification4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin signum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin significo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin significatio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English signification

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, Latin signum‘sign’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignumWiktionary, Latin significo‘token, sign’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificōWiktionary, Latin significatio‘to show, express, signify, point out’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificātiōWiktionary, English signification‘signal, sign, mark, token’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400significacionWiktionary, English signification
  6. EnglishtodaysignificationWiktionary, English signification

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’

saw, sex, risk, ship, sexual, section, segment, sack, insect, sawyer, scarlet, sax, het, designation, shingle, dissect, sickle, scythe, seg, sedge, sich, brassica, desiccant, desiccation, assignation, 52 more

through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’

design, resign, sealing, assign, consign, 18 more

through Latin signum ‘token, sign’

seal, signal, ensign, insignia, signet, sain, sigil, 12 more

Today it means

noun The act of signifying, or something that is signified; significance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “signification”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin signum, Latin significo, Latin significatio. 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 / signification

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