signal English · revision 4202

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1380|origins=la signum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪɡ.nəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|signal]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|signal|t=seal, imprint, sign, mark]], earlier seignal,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-med|signāle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the neuter of Late Latin signālis “used as a sign”,^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[la|signum|t=identifying mark, sign]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[sign]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective, “notable”, is from French signalé, the past participle of signaler “to distinguish”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) through Italian segnalato.^(COED 2004)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A visible sign, indication: about 1380, in Chaucer's House of Fame, according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1384 in the OED, a badge or symbol, a sense now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In late Middle English it was also a supernatural act of God and a device on a banner.^(Etymonline) A sign agreed on for concerted action, as an order to begin or stop, is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) first in Shakespeare's Richard II (1593).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A sign given to convey information or a warning is from 1598.^(OED 1989) The modulation of an electric current to transmit messages is from 1855,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) later of electromagnetic waves, hence in radio broadcasting (1923).^(Etymonline) The railway signalman is by 1840.^(Etymonline) The adjective, “striking, notable”, as in ''a signal achievement'', is from 1641 in Barnhart and the OED,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the 1640s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to make signals to”, is from 1805;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the earlier verb was [[signalize]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – a visible sign.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1593 – a sign for concerted action.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – adjective, notable.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1805 – verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1840 – ''signalman''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – an electric signal.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1923 – a broadcast signal.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A gesture, light, sound or other sign used to communicate a message or warning.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something that prompts action: ''the signal to attack''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An electrical impulse or radio wave that transmits information, as for [[radio]] or television.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A device, as on a railway, that shows whether the way is clear.^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a signal to; to communicate by signals.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be a sign of; to [[indicate]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Notably out of the ordinary: ''a signal achievement''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[signaler]]

+ * [[signalman]]

+ * [[presignal]]

+ * [[signalment]]

+ * [[unsignaled]]

+ * [[unsignalled]]

+ * [[resignal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[signature]]

+ * [[signet]]

+ * [[sign]]

+ * [[signalize]]

+ * [[signify]]

+ * [[significant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}