Signal
From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to searchThe printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Origins
French. signal (Old French. also seignal, seignau, etc.), = Pg. sinal, Sp. señal, It. segnale, med.L. sign{a}l(e, a Romanic formation on L. signum SIGN: -AL1 4. Used by Chaucer and Gower, but otherwise evidenced only from the end of the 16th century.
Definitions
- 1. a. A visible sign; a badge or symbol. Obs.
- b. A mark of distinction or honor. Obs.
- 2. A sign, token, or indication (of something). In later use not clearly separable from sense 4.
- 3. A sign agreed upon or understood as the occasion of concerted action, esp. one ordering the movement of troops or ships; also fig., an exciting cause.
- 4. a. A sign or notice, perceptible by sight or hearing, given especially for the purpose of conveying warning, direction, or information.
- b. An object serving to convey an intimation.
- c. A modulation of an electric current, electromagnetic wave, or the like by means of which information is conveyed from one place to another; the current or wave itself; also, a current or wave whose presence is regarded as conveying information about the source from which it comes.