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signification

signification

2 7.7
The meaning that a word, sign, or symbol expresses
  • noun
  • /ˌsɪɡnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
translation icon : significación
  • The signification of the red traffic light is to stop your vehicle.
  • mode of signification
  • system of signification
  • structure of signification

And he says these are the terms whose signification was before unknown.

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Examples

  • In literature, signification often extends beyond the literal meaning of words.

  • The word "I," like "barbarian" in Montaigne's essay, becomes open to change in signification and reference.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The problem of signification, therefore, leads to a problem of the self and of identity.

    Academic text (1991)
  • And he says these are the terms whose signification was before unknown.

  • Noting its power to give life, we realize that signification is transformation.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Note here that truth is both discovered and made by the activity of signification or semiosis.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The word, then, achieves a cultural signification that engenders deterministic analysis.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The objectively shared significations made possible by language are only one part of the "double-barreled concept" of meaning.

    Academic text (2017)
  • We might say that Villers created a new social gestus out of these significations.

    Academic text (2015)
  • In constructing a reality, the processes of signification must also engender mystification.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

meaning
vssignification
890 1.0

An idea a word or sign shows

is the conveyed sense that words or symbols express
interpretation
vssignification
314 4.4

An explanation of what something means

is the conveyed sense itself, not someone's explanatory view
significance
vssignification
52 3.8

The meaning or message something has

focuses on conveyed sense rather than broader message or importance
import
vssignification
  • Formal
27 6.8

The meaning or importance of something

is the direct conveyed sense, not just implied importance
signified
vssignification
  • Specialized
8.4

The idea that a word or sign shows

is the basic conveyed sense in general use rather than technical focus

Surface Forms

signification singular

Morphology

signification = signify (semi-transparent) = sign + ify + ation

The word is regularly formed from 'signify' + '-ation', but the resulting noun has a more specialized abstract sense of 'meaning' rather than simply 'the act of signifying'.

Etymology

The word signification comes from the Latin significare, made of sign and a part meaning 'to make'. Think of sign and signal—they show something to others, so signification is the 'meaning' a word or symbol gives.