significance English · revision 7207

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=la significo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kəns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English significaunce, [[bor|fro|significance]] or directly [[bor|la|significantia|t=meaning, force, energy]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from significans, the present participle of [[m|la|significo|alt=significāre|t=to mean, signify]] (see [[signify]]).^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Meaning, as of an omen or dream: about 1400 in Etymonline, about 1450 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) NODE says it first denoted an unstated meaning.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Importance or consequence is from 1725.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Meaning or suggestiveness without a stated object is from 1814.^(OED 1989) In statistics, the degree to which a result is statistically significant is from 1888.^(OED 1989) The earlier word was signifiance, sign or portent (mid-13th century), and significancy was the more common form in the 17th and 18th centuries.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-13th century – signifiance.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – meaning.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1725 – importance.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – in statistics.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being important; [[importance]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The meaning of something, especially a hidden one.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(statistics)'' The extent to which a result is unlikely to be due to chance.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[insignificance]]

+ * [[nonsignificance]]

+ * [[significs]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[significant]]

+ * [[signify]]

+ * [[sign]]

+ * [[signal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}