signature

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃɚ/, /ˈsɪɡ.nɪ.t͡ʃɚ/; /ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃə/, /ˈsɪɡ.nɪ.t͡ʃə/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French signature or directly borrowed from Medieval Latin signatura (“sign manual”),^[2][3][4] in classical Latin the matrix of a seal and in Late Latin a mark on sheep,^[3][5] from signāre (“to mark, seal”) (see sign).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Scots law, a document prepared for the royal signature as the basis of a grant: 1534.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

A person's name written in his own hand is from 1580, replacing sign manual.^[2][6][3] A distinctive mark is from 1613, first of the marks on plants once thought to show their medicinal uses.^[2][6] A section of folded sheets for binding a book is from 1656,^[2] and the key and time signs at the start of a musical stave from 1806.^[2][3] The signature tune is from 1932,^[6] and a characteristic pattern in a physical signal, as in a radar signature, from 1960.^[6] As an adjective, a signature dish is one that identifies a chef.^[7]

Timeline

• 1534 – in Scots law.^[2]
• 1580 – a person's written name.^[2][6]
• 1613 – a distinctive mark.^[2]
• 1656 – a printed sheet in a book.^[2]
• 1806 – in music.^[2][3]
• 1932 – signature tune.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person's name written in their own hand, as on a letter or cheque.
2. The act of signing one's name.
3. A distinctive mark or characteristic.
4. (music) A key signature or time signature.
5. (printing) A large sheet printed and folded to form a section of a book.

Adjective

1. Characteristic of a person or place: a signature dish.

Word family

• signatureless
• countersignature
• unsignatured
• key signature
• time signature

Related words

• sign
• signatory
• signet
• signal
• significant

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins