Signification

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌsɪɡnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The meaning or sense conveyed by a word, phrase, or symbol ; the importance or relevance something holds in a particular context
2. What a term or expression stands for or represents ; the degree to which something matters or carries weight
3. The message or idea communicated through language or symbols ; the significance or value attached to an event or idea

Etymology: Latin "significare" meant "to make known" or "to indicate," built from "signum" (a sign, mark, or token) and "facere" (to make or do). From that root the noun "significātiō" meant the act of indicating or showing something, and it carried the same sense of pointing toward a meaning that the English word still has today. The word reached English through Old French "significacion," which passed the Latin form along with its core idea of a sign that makes something known. English speakers borrowed it and kept the sense of what something indicates or stands for, so that "signification" describes the meaning a word or symbol carries rather than a mark or gesture itself.

Synonyms: meaning, significance, denotation, interpretation, implication