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单词 signify
释义

signifyv.

Brit. /ˈsɪɡnᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈsɪɡnəˌfaɪ/
Forms: Middle English senfye, Middle English signefe, Middle English signefyȝe, Middle English signifi, Middle English singnefie, Middle English sinifijt (3rd singular present indicative), Middle English sinyfied (3rd singular present indicative), Middle English sygnyffye, Middle English sygnyffyie, Middle English syngnyfyth (3rd singular present indicative), Middle English synified (past tense), Middle English–1500s signifye, Middle English–1500s signyfie, Middle English–1500s signyfye, Middle English (in a late copy)–1500s sinifieth (3rd singular present indicative), Middle English–1500s sygnefye, Middle English–1500s sygnifie, Middle English–1500s sygnifye, Middle English–1500s sygnyfie, Middle English–1500s sygnyfye, Middle English–1600s signefie, Middle English–1600s signefy, Middle English–1600s signefye, Middle English–1600s singnifie, Middle English–1700s signifie, Middle English– signify, late Middle English gignyfy (transmission error), 1500s seignyfye, 1500s sygnefie, 1500s sygnefy, 1500s sygnify, 1500s sygnyfy, 1500s sygnyfyed (past tense and past participle), 1500s syngnifie, 1500s syngnyfie, 1500s syngnyfy, 1500s syngnyfye, 1600s signiefie (Irish English), 1600s singnify, 1600s sinifie, 1600s–1700s sinify; Scottish pre-1700 segnify, pre-1700 signefe, pre-1700 signefie, pre-1700 signefy, pre-1700 signiefie, pre-1700 signife, pre-1700 signifie, pre-1700 signifye, pre-1700 signyfe, pre-1700 signyfie, pre-1700 signyfy, pre-1700 singneffye, pre-1700 singnife, pre-1700 singnifices (3rd singular present indicative), pre-1700 singnifie, pre-1700 sygnyfis (3rd singular present indicative), pre-1700 sygnyfy, pre-1700 1700s– signify, 1800s signafee (Shetland).
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French signifier; Latin significāre.
Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman senifier, singnefier, singnifier, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French senefier, signefier, signifier (French signifier ) to mean, denote (c1100 of an object, c1377 of a word), to make known, announce, declare (something) (c1145), to presage, portend, prefigure (an event) (second half of the 12th cent. as senechier ), to function as a sign or symbol (c1175), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin significāre to indicate, to make signs, to show, demonstrate, to make known, to suggest, to mention, refer to, to convey, mean, to denote, express, to foreshow < signum sign n. + -ficāre -fy suffix. Compare Old Occitan significar (c1300 or earlier), signifiar (14th cent.), Catalan significar (12th cent.), Spanish significar (first half of the 13th cent.), Portuguese significar (14th cent.), Italian significare (12th cent.). The use in sense 5 is not paralleled in French until later (1671 in ne signifier rien; chiefly in negative contexts).
1.
a. transitive. Of an object, event, etc.: to be a sign or symbol of, to symbolize; to represent, denote, mean.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > [verb (transitive)]
tokenc888
sayOE
tellc1175
note?c1225
signifyc1275
notifyc1390
signc1390
ossc1400
testify1445
point1477
betoken1486
indike?1541
demonstrate1558
to give show of1567
argue1585
portend1590
speak1594
denotate1597
denote1597
evidence1610
instance1616
bespeak1629
resent1638
indict1653
notificate1653
indicate1706
exhibit1799
to body forth1821
signalize1825
to speak for ——1832
index1862
signal1866
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 215 Þet Gold þet is bricht..signefieth þe gode beleaue þet is bricht ine þe gode cristenemannes herte.
a1450 (?1419–20) Friar Daw's Reply (Digby) l. 195 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 79 Foure angels singnefien foure general synnes.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 886 The two knyghtes, signyfyeth the two dedly synnes.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) Prol. 4 Þis boke is distyngid in thris fyfty psalmes, in þe whilk thre statis of cristin mannys religion is sygnifyd.
1521 tr. C. de Pisan Body of Polycye i. xx. sig. e.v In the one hande she helde a braunche of Olyfe and in ye other honde she helde a naked sworde, whiche sygnyfyed that in lordshyp ought to be benygnyte and mercy, & also Iustyce, and myght.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxvv This signifieth my body.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lviii. 129 The secret grace which they [sc. the sacraments] signifie and exhibit.
1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster i. 12 Then tooke hee vp his garland, and did shew what euery flower, as countrey people hold, did signifie.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther i. 24 For what is signify'd and understood, Is, by her own confession, flesh and blood.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. v. 84 These Words are intended to signify certain Forms of Civility.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty xi The arrows [of Apollo] may be allowed to signify the sun's rays.
1826 E. Irving Babylon I. ii. 90 The dragon, carnage-coloured, signifies Rome.
1869 J. Ruskin Queen of Air §8 It may be easy to prove that the ascent of Apollo in his chariot signifies nothing but the rising of the sun.
1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 12/1 The crew..hoisted the flag signifying ‘Owner aboard and very thirsty’, and they fired the sunset or dry Martini gun.
1970 A. Toffler Future Shock (1971) viii. 172 Churchill's ‘V for Victory’ sign is now used by protesters to signify something emphatically different: ‘peace’ not ‘victory’.
2004 Webactive 14 Oct. 6/2 The festival [of Diwali] signifies the triumph of light over darkness.
b. transitive. Of a word, phrase, etc.: to have the meaning or import of; to mean, denote.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > mean, signify, express [verb (transitive)]
tokenc888
meaneOE
sayOE
bequeathc1175
signifya1382
beara1400
bemeana1400
soundc1400
designc1429
applyc1450
betoken1502
express1526
conveya1568
intend1572
carry1584
denotate1597
pronounce1610
to set out1628
implya1640
speak1645
denote1668
designate1741
describe1808
enunciate1859
read1894
a1382 Prefatory Epist. St. Jerome in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) iv. l. 35 Logos in grece many þinges signifieþ.
c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 287 What signefyes, gode sone, þese sawus þat þou seis?
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22988 Ierom sais..þat Iosaphat mai signifi Vr lauerd dome.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1869) II. 151 For dal in the langage of theyme signifiethe parte.
?1510 T. More tr. G. Pico della Mirandola in tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. e.iiv This name iesus signifieth a sauiour.
a1564 Q. Kennedy Compend. Ressonyng in 2 Eucharistic Tracts (1964) 176 Ite missa est..dois signifie that..the mes was finissit.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 204 I have heard likewise, that Caer in the Syriack tongue, signified, a Citie.
1708 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth (ed. 2) ii. 172 The very Name of Typhon..signifies a Deluge or Inundation.
1720 I. Newton Let. 12 Apr. (1977) VII. 89 The word Reichs or Rycks Thalere signifies imperial Dollar.
1770 J. Clubbe Misc. Tracts II. 141 Which is expressed by a word in the Hebrew, that signifies to initiate.
1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 40 The autumn is designated by a term signifying the fall of the leaf.
1876 P. G. Tait Lect. Recent Adv. in Physical Sci. (ed. 2) xiv. 358 We now employ the term Energy to signify the power of doing work.
1912 E. H. Forbush Hist. Game Birds 405 That rivulet..was the Pimesepoese of the natives. This compound phrase signifies ‘provision rivulet’.
1990 B. Bettelheim Recoll. & Refl. i. 66 They were certainly familiar with the German meaning of their name, since most families are interested in what their names signify.
c. transitive. To indicate that (something) is going to take place; to presage, portend; to prefigure.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prefiguration > prefigure [verb (transitive)]
forecomea1300
to say beforec1384
signifyc1384
pretendc1425
prefigurec1429
preostendc1429
prefigurate1530
prefigurate1530
adumbrate1537
promise1556
premonstrate1562
foresignify1565
presignify1570
shadow1574
foreshadow1577
presage1583
fore-run1590
presign1590
fore-read1591
figure1595
type forth, out1596
fore-point1601
foreshow1601
prophesy1608
foretella1616
foretypea1618
forebode1656
harbingera1657
pretypify1658
pretype1659
forespeak1667
to figure out1721
forecast1883
favour1887
precourse1888
precursea1892
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Zech. iii. 8 Thei ben men signyfyinge [L. portendentes] thing to cummynge.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 814 A Raven, be whom yit men mai Take evidence, whan he crieth, That som mishapp it signefieth.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 595 (MED) Þe eye rounde shal signifie Þat he shal habbe seignourye Of þis rounde myddellerd.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 11 (MED) Y wille shewe you what youre auision signifiethe.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 718/1 I sawe a marvaylouse thyng in the ayre yesterday what so ever it dothe signifye.
1580 F. K. Of Crinitall Starre sig. Avii This tayled Starre, by his pale coloure, doth signifie great losses and hinderaunce to the Countreys aforesayd.
1665 A. Cowley Let. 21 May in S. Johnson Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets (1779) I. 35 What this signifies, or may come to in time, God knows; if it be ominous, it can end in nothing less than hanging.
1776 T. Harmer Observ. (ed. 2) II. viii. 253 Which the darkness of the air, and thickness of the clouds..signified before-hand.
1852 Southern Literary Messenger Sept. 520/1 The vaticinations of an old woman, a religious devotee resident in a convent at Oporto; her dreams often signified the coming of the young king.
1871 R. A. Proctor Light Sci. 294 The appearance of a double or ‘fetch’ has ever been held..to signify approaching death.
1914 Pract. Druggist Sept. 392/2 A rapid fall [of a barometer] signifies stormy weather.
1999 Independent (Nexis) 12 Aug. 4 Still-believing Communists say the eclipse signifies at last the end of capitalist days.
†d. intransitive. To have or convey a particular meaning; to function as a sign or symbol. Also: to presage or portend something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prefiguration > prefigure [verb (intransitive)]
before-showOE
signifya1398
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxi. 1386 Som vois signifieþ and tokeneþ by kynde, as chiteryng of briddes and gronynge of sike men. And some tokeneþ at wille, as þe voice of a man.
a1450 York Plays (1885) 118 Or he be borne in burgh hereby..A sterne shulde schyne and signifie, With lightfull lemes.
?a1500 tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (Harl.) (1942) 118 (MED) Dremes..sumtyme signifye & sumtyme not.
1533 J. Frith Bk. answeringe Mores Let. sig. Bij Now, if they be signes, than they do signifye, and are not the very thinge it self.
1557 J. Gwynneth Playne Demonstr. xlii. f. 78v Euery figure, token, or signe, is alway ordeyned to signifie.
1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια 228 Every voyce therefore that is significative, first of all signifies by the influence of the cœlestial harmony.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues: Two Last Dial. iv. xiii. 51 You are to understand..that the Kingdome of God in the New Testament signifies variously.
1682 Heraclitus Ridens 2 May 2/2 Conscience and Honesty are general Words and signifie, according to the mind of the Speaker.
1736 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum (ed. 2) Enmanché [in Heraldry] is..when the chief has lines drawn from the upper edge of the chief on the sides, to about half the breadth of the chief, signifying as if it had sleeves on it.
e. intransitive. In critical or analytical discourse: (of a text, process, sign, etc.) to generate or carry meaning; to have the function of meaning something.
ΚΠ
1937 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 49 253 First, it is obvious that comprehending often includes perceiving, for it is frequently the product of perceiving that signifes, that has a meaning which goes beyond itself.
1961 R. McInerny Logic of Analogy iv. 49 To say that some words are analogous is to say something about the way they signify.
1973 Screen Spring 224 An understanding of how the film is understood, of how it signifies, of its system(s) of intelligibility.
1981 M. Riffaterre in New Lit. Hist. 12 228 The text refers not to objects outside of itself, but to an intertext. The words of the text signify not by referring to things, but by presupposing other texts.
1994 Representations No. 47. 35 It is this double-sidedness of David's pictorial imagination all through—the effort to signify so often at odds with the passion for embodiment—that is the clue to his work's inimitable pathos.
2.
a. To make known, indicate, announce, declare (an idea, fact, etc.); to signal (an intention, decision, etc.).
(a) transitive. Without construction.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > intimation or making known > intimate or make known (something) [verb (transitive)]
speakc825
areadc885
meldeOE
sayOE
yknowa1225
warnc1275
bekena1300
wraya1300
signifyc1325
declarec1340
to speak outc1384
discuss1389
notifyc1390
bida1400
advertise1447
notice1447
detectc1465
render1481
minister1536
to set outa1540
summonc1540
intimate1548
acquaint1609
phrase1614
voice1629
denote1660
unlade1717
apprise1817
aira1902
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 3233 Me cluped him vter pendragon..& þat was to singnefie Þat merlin him clupede dragon in is prophecye.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xi. 28 Oon of hem..signyfiede [L. significabat] bi the spirit a greet hungir to comynge in al the roundnesse of erthis.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7165 Thus mych wole oure book signifie That while petre hath maistrie May neuer Iohn shewe well his myght.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 17650 (MED) And the trouthe doth sygnefye Thys hand ys wrouht ageyn nature.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vii. v. 141 The self stranger, quham fatale destane Signifyit to cum furth of ane wncouth stede To be his son in law.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxviij It is reported not onlie in Germany, but also sygnyfyed oute of Italye, and otherplaces.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies vi. v. 442 A man of iudgement may aske, how they could signifie their conceptions by figures.
1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) i. sig. d2 When no living creature was come from Europe into that part of America to signifie that Newes.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvi. iv. 27 The Squire and the Parson..were smoaking their Pipes together, when the Arrival of the Lady was first signified . View more context for this quotation
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1787) II. xix. 132 His first step was to signify a concise and haughty mandate.
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott III. x. 324 In compliance with Scott's wish as signified in the letter last quoted.
1884 Graphic 16 Aug. 162/3 Her Majesty has signified her intention of subscribing 200l. to the Building Fund.
1921 L. Strachey Queen Victoria (1958) ii. 35 The Regent..signified at the same time that one of the godfathers was to be the Emperor Alexander of Russia.
1966 G. Greene Comedians ii. i. 172 He rose from behind his desk to signify that the interview as at an end.
1990 P. P. Read On Third Day xii. 123 Andrew..merely nodded to signify his acquiescence to anything Father Pierre might propose.
(b) transitive. With to (also †unto).
ΚΠ
c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 826 To signifie to pope and to prelate, How this world is a thurghfare ful of woo.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xvii. 65 He..stroof wyth hymself by what wayes he myghte signyfie it vnto her..for to gyue her lesse sorowe.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxviv The Duke of Saxon & the Lantzgraue immediatly signifye to themperour by letters the whole matter.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke Ded. sig. A2 To publish these labors of mine vnder your name..to signifie vnto the world, my thankfull mind.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 141 It was also signified vnto him, they were borne in..Northumberland.
1689 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 300 He thought they were obliged to ye Govr. for signifying these things to them.
1737 J. Breval Rape of Helen 43 I am dispatch'd by the Town Major to signify to your Majesty, that the Princes Castor and Pollux, have forc'd one of the Posts.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. ii. 16 Nobody ever saw one animal by its gestures and natural cries signify to another, this is mine, that yours. View more context for this quotation
1812 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 12 419 Mr. Vernon was the gentleman, I believe, that signified it to me.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 162 A prince who obstinately refused to comply with the general wish of his people signified to him by his Parliament.
1903 McClure's Mag. Aug. 403/1 She was glad when the meal was ready, and..he signified to her that she should eat, and noiselessly took his departure.
1991 A. Weir Six Wives Henry VIII i. vi. 106 In November the baby stirred for the first time, and a proud Henry informed King Ferdinand of the fact, to signify to him ‘the great joy thereat that we take.’
†b. transitive. To notify or inform (a person). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. lxxxvi. 108 Sir Gaultier of Manny sent certayne messangers to the kyng of Englande, signyfieng hym howe [etc.].
1566 in R. G. Marsden Court Adm. (Selden) II. 135 Plezeth your..Lordshipp to be signifyed that I have receivid your..writ of supersedeas to me dyrectid.
1611 T. Heywood Golden Age iii. sig. F2v Messengers dispatch'd to signifie My sonne of our distresse.
†3. transitive. To compare or liken to something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > comparison > compare [verb (transitive)] > liken
bysenc1325
anliken1340
comparison1340
liken1340
figure1393
like?c1425
semblea1440
compare1447
comparagea1450
signifya1470
comparate?a1475
figurate?a1500
resemble1533
patterna1586
symbolize with1605
assimilatec1616
similize1620
symbolize1651
similarize1806
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 999 Well ought Oure Lorde be signifyed to an harte.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 266 The quhyte colour..is signifyit to the vertu of puritee.
†4. transitive. To hint at. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > hint or covert suggestion > hint at or suggest [verb (transitive)]
inkle1340
induce1481
alludec1487
signifya1535
insinuate1561
to glance at (upon, against)1570
thrust1574
imply1581
adumbrate1589
intimate1590
innuate?1611
glancea1616
ministera1616
perstringea1620
shadow1621
subinduce1640
involve1646
equivocate1648
hint1648
subindicate1654
hint at1697
suggest1697
indicate1751
surmise1820
to get at ——1875
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 63/2 Other thinges, which the said worshipful doctor rather signified then fully explaned.
5. intransitive. To be of importance or consequence; to have significance; to avail, matter. Chiefly in negative or interrogative constructions.
a. With adverbs, as much, little, nothing, or in questions with what.In later use the modifying word or interrogative pronoun may be interpreted as an object complement, and thus the verb as transitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (intransitive)]
reckeOE
recka1250
attainc1374
beforcec1375
pertaina1382
concern1477
import1539
signifya1616
to trench into (unto)1621
to bear (a) (great) state1623
urge1654
relate1655
bulk1672
refer1677
argufy1751
to be no small drinka1774
tell1779
reckon1811
to count for (much, little, nothing, etc.)1857
to stand for something (or nothing)1863
shout1876
count1885
mind1915
rate1926
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. v. 26 A Tale Told by an Ideot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing. View more context for this quotation
1661 A. Marvell Let. 16 May in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 23 The House left Liddall to prosecute him at law. But I believe it will not signify much.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 33 But it signify'd little.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 365 His speech signified nothing towards the saving of himself.
1757 S. Foote Author i. 16 Lord! what signifies carrying such a lumb'ring Thing about?
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian iii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 78 ‘It signifies little,’ replied Captain Porteous; ‘your pain will be soon at an end.’
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 85 Condemned Prætextatus must be, and what did it signify by what semblance of law or justice..the king, Fredegonde, and all the Frank warriors, would look at the sentence, not at the grounds on which it professed to rest .
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 30 What signifies repugnance? Truth is truth howe'er it strike.
1916 C. Mackenzie Mr. & Mrs. Pierce xx. 392 I began to think that even the most horrible things which Butler could have done or I could have done really didn't signify much.
1990 F. Dannen Hit Men (1991) iv. 82 He..had a vague job that paid well but signified little, a reward for service that the navy calls a ‘sunset cruise’.
b. Without modifying word.
ΚΠ
1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin ii. iii. 48 Is he not made to stand by as a Cypher, when she alone must signifie in all these Devotions?
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 14 The Captain's Answer was, It does not signify.
1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. i. 63 The anecdotes of Cooper's life are few; nor does it signify; his works are his history.
1817 Countess Granville Lett. (1894) I. 91 His eye is still bloodshot, but nothing to signify.
1895 ‘G. Mortimer’ Like Stars that Fall xiv. 195 ‘What name?’ ‘I don't know that it signifies about my name. Please tell her that some one wishes to speak to her.’
1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies ii. 16 Don't worry, Fred. It don't signify.
1994 A. Taylor Air that Kills v. xiii. 229 ‘Belt and braces job, if you ask me,’ Dr Bayswater said. ‘Not that it signifies.’
6. intransitive. U.S. slang (chiefly in African-American usage). To boast, brag; to make insulting remarks, esp. as part of a verbal contest.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > jeering, taunting, or scoffing > [verb (intransitive)]
gab?c1225
scoffa1380
mockc1475
to mock and mow1509
jest1526
jeer1553
taunt1560
gibe1567
scripa1572
to come over ——1600
flirt1603
tit1622
to sling off (at)1911
signify1932
barrack-
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > boast [verb (intransitive)] > boast scornfully or insultingly
insulta1592
signify1932
1932 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/5 Signify, to pretend to have knowledge of a matter or subject in which one is poorly informed.
1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. vii. 161 ‘Aw, woman, quit tryin' to signify.’ ‘Ah kin signify all Ah please, Mr. Nappy-chin.’
1951 J. Kerouac On the Road: Orig. Scroll (2007) 356 Anybody signify with me my nose opens up, I get mad enough to kill.
1968 Down Beat 7 Mar. 38/3 One night Billie brought the personal element into focus by ‘signifying’, which in Harlemese means making a series of pointed but oblique remarks apparently addressed to no one in particular, but unmistakable in intention.
2000 J. F. Callahan in R. Ellison & A. Murray Trading Twelves Introd. p. xiii I cannot stifle a sigh of regret that they did not riff and signify on paper with each other.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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