signum Latin · revision 2740

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=ine-pro *sek-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈsɪŋ.nũː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsiɲ.ɲum]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''signum''' ''n'' (genitive signī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Georges records an Old Latin ''seignom'', and Köbler the medieval spellings ''singnum'' and ''cignum''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*sekno-|t=statue, sign]], [[inh|ine-pro|*sek(h₂)-no-|t=cut]], a derivative of [[ine-pro|*sek-|t=to cut]], the root of [[seco|alt=secāre]], so that the original sense was “what is cut out or carved”; the OLD likewise analyses it as the verb with the suffix [[m|la|-num]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[umc|asignas|t=cut meat]] and [[osc|segúnú|t=statue]], with the Oscan verb [[m|osc|seganatted]] “marked”, and perhaps with [[ims|seino|t=statue]].^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan notes that, since a laryngeal in the root would have left an unsyncopated vowel, the derivative may have been formed from the Italic root at a late stage.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Wiktionary and Etymonline report Watkins's alternative, [[ine-pro|*sekʷ-no-]] “standard that one follows”, from [[ine-pro|*sekʷ-|t=to follow]].^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) Lewis and Short compared a Sanskrit root meaning “to cling to”.^(Lewis & Short 1879) [[sigillum|alt=Sigillum]] is the diminutive *segno-lo- “small sign”, and [[signo|alt=sīgnāre]] and [[insignis|alt=īnsīgnis]] are derived from the noun.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is attested from Naevius onwards.^(de Vaan 2008) In Plautus it already means a [[m|en|seal]], a distinguishing mark, a recognition token, a statue and a [[m|en|constellation]], and Ennius uses it of an omen and of the starter's signal at the games.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its basic sense was a mark made to show position or ownership, hence a seal or signet, a distinguishing feature, the tokens by which an exposed child was recognized, a nickname, and a mark on the body.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It then meant any indication from which something is inferred: presumptive evidence in rhetoric, a weather sign or symptom, an omen, a trace, a gesture, a military signal, a password, a symbol, a shop sign.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ The military standard was a ''signum'', and the plural ''signa'' stood for active service (''sub signis''), for allegiance to a commander and for the lines of an army, and by metonymy a ''signum'' was a maniple.^(OLD 2012) Another group of senses is the carved or cast figure: a statue, a figure in relief or in a painting, and a constellation or sign of the zodiac.^(OLD 2012)^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ Christian Latin used it for a [[m|en|miracle]] and for the sign of the cross, which Lactantius calls ''signum crucis'';^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)^(Georges 1913) medieval texts have it for a king's monogram, a hand-mark, a milestone or boundary mark, a gesture of monastic sign language, a battle cry, and the ringing of a bell or the bell itself, whence Portuguese ''sino'' “bell”.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary) The Romance languages keep it as Italian ''segno'', French ''seing'' and ''signe'', Spanish ''seña'' and Romanian ''semn'',^(Wiktionary) and English [[m|en|sign]] came through Old French in the early 13th century, first as a gesture of the hand.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a seal, a token, a statue and a constellation.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of an omen and of the starting signal.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a mark on a cutting.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of statues, of military standards and of signs of the zodiac.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius writes of the ''signum crucis''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours has medieval senses.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 13th century – [[en|sign|alt=Sign]] is borrowed into English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A mark showing position or ownership, and in geometry a point.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|seal]], a signet.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A distinguishing mark or feature; a recognition token; a nickname.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A sign from which something is inferred, an indication, and in rhetoric presumptive evidence.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A weather sign, a symptom; an [[m|en|omen]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A trace.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A gesture; a [[m|en|signal]]; a password.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A symbol, an emblem; a shop sign.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A military [[m|en|standard]], and by metonymy a maniple.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A statue; a figure in relief or in a painting.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A [[m|en|constellation]]; a sign of the zodiac.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(Christian Latin)'' A [[m|en|miracle]]; the sign of the cross.^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A king's monogram; a hand-mark; a milestone; a boundary mark; a monastic sign-language gesture; a battle cry; a bell.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[īnsignis]]

+ * [[praesignis]]

+ * [[sigillum]]

+ * [[signārius]]

+ * [[signifer]]

+ * [[signifex]]

+ * [[signipotens]]

+ * [[signitenens]]

+ * [[signō]]

+ * [[multisignis]]

+ * [[signāle]]

+ * [[significō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[signātūra]]

+ * [[secō]]

+ * [[en|sign]]

+ * [[en|signal]]

+ * [[en|seal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein sets ''signum'', [[statua]] and [[effigies|alt=effigiēs]], plastic works, against [[imago|alt=imāgō]] and [[simulacrum|alt=simulācrum]], representations of any kind.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}