signature English · revision 6616

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1534|origins=la signum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃɚ/, /ˈsɪɡ.nɪ.t͡ʃɚ/; /ˈsɪɡ.nə.t͡ʃə/, /ˈsɪɡ.nɪ.t͡ʃə/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|signature]] or directly [[bor|la-med|signatura|t=sign manual]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) in classical Latin the matrix of a seal and in Late Latin a mark on sheep,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[m|la|signo|alt=signāre|t=to mark, seal]] (see [[sign]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Scots law, a document prepared for the royal signature as the basis of a grant: 1534.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person's name written in his own hand is from 1580, replacing [[sign manual]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A distinctive mark is from 1613, first of the marks on plants once thought to show their medicinal uses.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A section of folded sheets for binding a book is from 1656,^(Barnhart 1988) and the key and time signs at the start of a musical stave from 1806.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The ''signature tune'' is from 1932,^(OED 1989) and a characteristic pattern in a physical signal, as in a radar signature, from 1960.^(OED 1989) As an adjective, a ''signature dish'' is one that identifies a chef.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1534 – in Scots law.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580 – a person's written name.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1613 – a distinctive mark.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1656 – a printed sheet in a book.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1806 – in music.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1932 – signature tune.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person's name written in their own hand, as on a letter or [[cheque]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of signing one's name.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A distinctive mark or characteristic.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[key signature]] or [[time signature]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(printing)'' A large sheet printed and folded to form a section of a book.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Characteristic of a person or place: ''a signature dish''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[signatureless]]

+ * [[countersignature]]

+ * [[unsignatured]]

+ * [[key signature]]

+ * [[time signature]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sign]]

+ * [[signatory]]

+ * [[signet]]

+ * [[signal]]

+ * [[significant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}