Etymologically
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signe

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Pronunciation

Forms

signe m (plural signes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin signum (“mark, token; signal; standard; constellation”).[2][3][4][5][6] It is a doublet of the popular seing, which it has replaced in most uses.[2][3][1] The origin of “signum” is uncertain: it has been linked with secō (“to cut”), a mark first made by incision, or with an Indo-European root “*sekʷ-” “to declare”.[3][7] The pronunciation “sine” was usual in the 16th and 17th centuries.[4][8]

Compare Italian segno, Old Occitan signe, Spanish signo and Portuguese signo.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) signe is a miracle, and the Passion de Clermont has signa for a remarkable, meaningful thing.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It soon meant a thing that allows one to infer the existence of another, a token or omen, and Philippe de Thaon (1119) uses it for the signs of the zodiac.[2][3] The gesture made to convey a thought is found early in the 12th century, and faire signe about 1170.[2] Signe de croix (1130–40) is a calque of Ecclesiastical Latin signum crucis.[2][4] Other senses followed: a pilgrim's badge (1174), a symptom (1314), a mark placed on a deed (1362), a figure or character representing something (Rabelais, 1564).[2] Signes des temps (1535) is biblical, and signe des temps in the modern sense dates from Anatole France (1881).[2] Saussure (1916) gave it its place in linguistics.[9]

Timeline

  • Second half of the 10th century – “Miracle”, Vie de saint Léger.[2]
  • 1119 – A sign of the zodiac, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • Early 12th century – A gesture.[2]
  • 1130–40 – Signe de croix, Wace.[2]
  • 1314 – A symptom, Henri de Mondeville.[2]
  • 1564 – A conventional sign, Rabelais.[2]
  • 1881 – Signe des temps, Anatole France.[2]
  • 1916 – The linguistic sign, Saussure.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sign, indication: c'est bon signe, un signe de fatigue, ne pas donner signe de vie.[7][1]
  2. A gesture, signal: faire signe à quelqu'un, un signe de tête, la langue des signes.[1][10]
  3. A mark, distinguishing feature: signe particulier, signes extérieurs de richesse.[10][7]
  4. A symbol, character: signe de ponctuation, (mathematics) le signe plus.[1][10]
  5. A sign of the zodiac: être né sous le signe du Lion, sous le signe de, under the sign of.[3][2]
  6. Signe de croix: the sign of the cross.[2][1]
  7. (linguistics) A linguistic sign.[9]

Word family

  • signet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 607a
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)