signe French · revision 17239

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=second half of the 10th century, Vie de saint Léger|origins=la signum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /siɲ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''signe''' ''m'' (plural signes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|signum|t=mark, token; signal; standard; constellation]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|11, 607a) It is a doublet of the popular [[seing]], which it has replaced in most uses.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The origin of “signum” is uncertain: it has been linked with [[m|la|secō|t=to cut]], a mark first made by incision, or with an Indo-European root “*sekʷ-” “to declare”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The pronunciation “sine” was usual in the 16th and 17th centuries.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Compare [[it|segno]], [[pro|signe]], [[es|signo]] and [[pt|signo]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The gesture made to convey a thought is found early in the 12th century, and ''faire signe'' about 1170.^(TLFi) ''Signe de croix'' (1130–40) is a calque of [[la-ecc|signum crucis]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) 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).^(TLFi) ''Signes des temps'' (1535) is biblical, and ''signe des temps'' in the modern sense dates from Anatole France (1881).^(TLFi) Saussure (1916) gave it its place in linguistics.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 10th century – “Miracle”, ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1119 – A sign of the zodiac, Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 12th century – A gesture.^(TLFi)

+ * 1130–40 – ''Signe de croix'', Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1314 – A symptom, Henri de Mondeville.^(TLFi)

+ * 1564 – A conventional sign, Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1881 – ''Signe des temps'', Anatole France.^(TLFi)

+ * 1916 – The linguistic sign, Saussure.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|sign]], indication: ''c'est bon signe'', ''un signe de fatigue'', ''ne pas donner signe de vie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A gesture, signal: ''faire signe à quelqu'un'', ''un signe de tête'', ''la langue des signes''.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # A mark, distinguishing feature: ''signe particulier'', ''signes extérieurs de richesse''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A symbol, character: ''signe de ponctuation'', ''(mathematics)'' ''le signe plus''.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # A sign of the zodiac: ''être né sous le signe du Lion'', ''sous le signe de'', under the sign of.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Signe de croix'': the sign of the cross.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(linguistics)'' A linguistic sign.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[signet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[seing]]

+ * [[signal]]

+ * [[signer]]

+ * [[signifier]]

+ * [[insigne]]

+ * [[enseigne]]

+ * [[la|signum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}