Tuesday, 31 July 2012
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sign \sign\, n. [F. signe, L. signum; cf. AS. segen, segn, a sign, standard, banner, also fr. L. signum. Cf. Ensign, Resign, Seal a stamp, Signal, Signet.] That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof. Specifically: (a) A remarkable event, considered by the ancients as indicating the will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen. (b) An event considered by the Jews as indicating the divine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the divine power for some special end; a miracle; a wonder. [1913 Webster]
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. --Rom. xv. 19. [1913 Webster]
It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. --Ex. iv. 8. [1913 Webster] (c) Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument. [1913 Webster]
What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign. --Num. xxvi. 10. [1913 Webster] (d) Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture. [1913 Webster]
The holy symbols, or signs, are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves. --Brerewood. [1913 Webster]
Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] (e) A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas. (f) A motion, an action, or a gesture by which a thought is expressed, or a command or a wish made known. [1913 Webster]
They made signs to his father, how he would have him called. --Luke i. 62. [1913 Webster] (g) Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb. [1913 Webster]
Note: Educaters of the deaf distinguish between natural signs, which serve for communicating ideas, and methodical, or systematic, signs, adapted for the dictation, or the rendering, of written language, word by word; and thus the signs are to be distinguished from the manual alphabet, by which words are spelled on the fingers. [1913 Webster] (h) A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard. --Milton. (i) A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice. [1913 Webster]
The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] (j) (Astron.) The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac. [1913 Webster]
Note: The signs are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox, and are named, respectively, Aries ([Aries]), Taurus ([Taurus]), Gemini (II), Cancer ([Cancer]), Leo ([Leo]), Virgo ([Virgo]), Libra ([Libra]), Scorpio ([Scorpio]), Sagittarius ([Sagittarius]), Capricornus ([Capricorn]), {Aquarius ([Aquarius]), Pisces ([Pisces]). These names were originally the names of the constellations occupying severally the divisions of the zodiac, by which they are still retained; but, in consequence of the procession of the equinoxes, the signs have, in process of time, become separated about 30 degrees from these constellations, and each of the latter now lies in the sign next in advance, or to the east of the one which bears its name, as the constellation Aries in the sign Taurus, etc. [1913 Webster] (k) (Alg.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division /, and the like. (l) (Med.) An objective evidence of disease; that is, one appreciable by some one other than the patient. [1913 Webster]
Note: The terms symptom and and sign are often used synonymously; but they may be discriminated. A sign differs from a symptom in that the latter is perceived only by the patient himself. The term sign is often further restricted to the purely local evidences of disease afforded by direct examination of the organs involved, as distinguished from those evidence of general disturbance afforded by observation of the temperature, pulse, etc. In this sense it is often called physical sign. [1913 Webster] (m) (Mus.) Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc. (n) (Theol.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents. [1913 Webster]
An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. --Bk. of Common Prayer. [1913 Webster]
Note: See the Table of Arbitrary Signs, p. 1924. [1913 Webster]
sign manual. (a) (Eng. Law) The royal signature superscribed at the top of bills of grants and letter patent, which are then sealed with the privy signet or great seal, as the case may be, to complete their validity. (b) The signature of one's name in one's own handwriting. --Craig. Tomlins. Wharton. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Token; mark; note; symptom; indication; signal; symbol; type; omen; prognostic; presage; manifestation. See Emblem. [1913 Webster] -
sign \sign\, v. i. 1. To be a sign or omen. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
2. To make a sign or signal; to communicate directions or intelligence by signs. [1913 Webster]
3. Especially: To communicate in sign language. [PJC]
4. To write one's name, esp. as a token of assent, responsibility, or obligation; as, he signed in red ink. [1913 Webster] -
sign \sign\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Signed; p. pr. & vb. n. Signing.] [OE. seinen to bless, originally, to make the sign of the cross over; in this sense fr. ASS. segnian (from segn, n.), or OF. seignier, F. signer, to mark, to sign (in sense 3), fr. L. signare to mark, set a mark upon, from signum. See sign, n.] 1. To represent by a sign; to make known in a typical or emblematic manner, in distinction from speech; to signify. [1913 Webster]
I signed to Browne to make his retreat. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
2. To make a sign upon; to mark with a sign. [1913 Webster]
We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross. --Bk. of Com Prayer. [1913 Webster]
3. To affix a signature to; to ratify by hand or seal; to subscribe in one's own handwriting. [1913 Webster]
Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed, And let him sign it. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
4. To assign or convey formally; -- used with away. [1913 Webster]
5. To mark; to make distinguishable. --Shak. [1913 Webster] - sign adj 1: used of the language of the deaf [syn: gestural, sign(a), signed, sign-language(a)] n 1: a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened); "he showed signs of strain"; "they welcomed the signs of spring" [syn: sign, mark] 2: a public display of a message; "he posted signs in all the shop windows" 3: any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message; "signals from the boat suddenly stopped" [syn: signal, signaling, sign] 4: structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted; "the highway was lined with signboards" [syn: signboard, sign] 5: (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided [syn: sign of the zodiac, star sign, sign, mansion, house, planetary house] 6: (medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease; "there were no signs of asphyxiation" 7: having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges); "he got the polarity of the battery reversed"; "charges of opposite sign" [syn: polarity, sign] 8: an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come; "he hoped it was an augury"; "it was a sign from God" [syn: augury, sign, foretoken, preindication] 9: a gesture that is part of a sign language 10: a fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified; "The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary"--de Saussure 11: a character indicating a relation between quantities; "don't forget the minus sign" v 1: mark with one's signature; write one's name (on); "She signed the letter and sent it off"; "Please sign here" [syn: sign, subscribe] 2: approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation; "All parties ratified the peace treaty"; "Have you signed your contract yet?" [syn: sign, ratify] 3: be engaged by a written agreement; "He signed to play the casino on Dec. 18"; "The soprano signed to sing the new opera" 4: engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season" [syn: sign, contract, sign on, sign up] 5: communicate silently and non-verbally by signals or signs; "He signed his disapproval with a dismissive hand gesture"; "The diner signaled the waiters to bring the menu" [syn: sign, signal, signalize, signalise] 6: place signs, as along a road; "sign an intersection"; "This road has been signed" 7: communicate in sign language; "I don't know how to sign, so I could not communicate with my deaf cousin" 8: make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate [syn: bless, sign]
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sign, contracts, evidence. A token of anything; a note or token given without words. 2. Contracts are express or implied. The express are manifested viva voce, or by writing; the implied are shown by silence, by acts, or by signs. 3. Among all nations find and at all times, certain signs have been considered as proof of assent or dissent; for example, the nodding of the head, and the shaking of hands; 2 Bl. Com. 448; 6 Toull. D. 33; Heinnec., Antiq. lib. 3, t. 23, n. 19; silence and inaction, facts and signs are sometimes very strong evidence of cool reflection, when following a question. I ask you to lend me one hundred dollars, without saying a word you put your hand in your pocket, and deliver me the money. I go into a hotel and I ask the landlord if he can accommodate me and take care of my trunk; without speaking he takes it out of my hands and sends it into his chamber. By this act he doubtless becomes responsible to me as a bailee. At the expiration of a lease, the tenant remains in possession, without any objection from the landlord; this may be fairly interpreted as a sign of a consent that the lease shall be renewed. 13 Serg. & Rawle, 60. 4, The learned author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in his 44th chapter, remarks, "Among savage nations, the want of letters is imperfectly supplied by the use of visible signs, which awaken attention, and perpetuate the remembrance of any public or private transaction. The jurisprudence of the first Romans exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the forms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of the fairest claim. The communion of the marriage-life was denoted by the necessary elements of fire and water: and the divorced wife resigned, the bunch of keys, by the delivery of which she had been invested with the government of the family. The manumission of a son, or a slave, was performed by turning him round with a gentle blow on the cheek: a work was prohibited by the casting of a stone; prescription was interrupted by the breaking of a branch; the clenched fist was the symbol of a pledge or deposits; the right hand was the gift of faith and confidence. The indenture of covenants was a broken straw; weights and, scales were introduced into every payment, and the heir who accepted a testament, was sometimes obliged to snap his fingers, to cast away his garments, and to leap and dance with real or affected transport. If a citizen pursued any stolen goods into a neighbor's house, he concealed his nakedness with a linen towel, and hid his. face with a mask or basin, lest he should encounter the eyes of a virgin or a matron. In a civil action, the plaintiff touched the ear of his witness seized his reluctant adversary by the neck and implored, in solemn lamentation, the aid of his fellow citizens. The two competitors grasped each other's hand, as if they stood prepared for combat before the tribunal of the praetor: he commanded them to produce the object of the dispute; they went, they returned with measured steps, and a clod of earth was cast at his feet to represent the field for which they contended. This occult science of the words and actions of law, was the inheritance of the pontiffs and patricians. Like the Chaldean astrologers, they announced to their clients the days of business and repose; these important trifles wore interwoven with the religion of Numa; and, after the publication of the Twelve Tables, the Roman people were still enslaved by the ignorance of judicial proceedings. The treachery of some plebeian officers at length revealed the profitable mystery: in a more enlightened age, the legal actions were derided and observed; and the same antiquity which sanctified the practice, obliterated the use and meaning, of this primitive language."
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sign, measures. In angular measures, a sign is equal to thirty degrees. Vide Measure.
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sign, mer. law. A board, tin or other substance, on which is painted the name and business of a merchant or tradesman. 2. Every man has a right to adopt such a sign as he may please to select, but he has no right to use another's name, without his consent. See Dall. Dict. mot Propriete Industrielle, and the article Trade marks.
To sign. To write one's name to an instrument of writing in order to give the effect intended; the name thus written is called a signature. 2. The signature is usually made at the bottom of the instrument but in wills it has been held that when a testator commenced his will With these words;, "I, A B, make this my will," it was a sufficient signing. 3 Lev. 1; and vide Rob. on Wills, 122 1 Will. on Wills, 49, 50; Chit. Cont. 212 Newl. Contr. 173; Sugd. Vend. 71; 2 Stark. Ev. 605, 613; Rob. on Fr. 121; but this decision is said to be absurd. 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 278, n. 16. Vide Merl. Repert. mot Signature, for a history of the origin, of signatures; and also 4 Cruise, Dig. h.t. 32, c. 2, s. 73, et seq.; see, generally, 8 Toull. n. 94-96; 1 Dall. 64; 5 Whart. R. 386; 2 B. & P 238; 2 M. & S. 286. 3. To sign a judgment, is to enter a judgment for want of something which was required to be done; as, for example, in the English practice, if he who is bound to give oyer does not give it within the time required, in such cases, the adverse party may sign judgment against him. 2 T. R. 40; Com. Dig. Pleader, P 1; Barnes, 245.
Sign
![[1080] Brown Eyed Girls - SIGN 14/11/2009](http://web.archive.org./web/20120731052555im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/O9piskaSt6Y/0.jpg "BEG - SIGN 1920 x 1088")
![Ace of Base - The Sign [1993]](http://web.archive.org./web/20120731052555im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iqu132vTl5Y/0.jpg)
![WkD | Breaking Benjamin - Give me a sign [Lyrics]](http://web.archive.org./web/20120731052555im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZVo4jeO-YTQ/0.jpg "I DO NOT OWN THE SONG OR THE LYRICS. THIS IS JUST A FAN-MADE VIDEO.")
![[MV/HQ eng sub] Brown Eyed Girls (브라운아이드걸스) - Sign (싸인)](http://web.archive.org./web/20120731052555im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WIfaWY9UYn0/0.jpg "[MV/HQ eng sub] Brown Eyed Girls (브라운아이드걸스) - Sign (싸인)")
![U.S. weather station sign in Hell, or Hiland Lake,[1] is an unincorporated community in Putnam Township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan.](http://web.archive.org./web/20120731052555/http://cdn6.wn.com/pd/95/32/ecf910a0bfa1ef6f563682d63622_medium.jpg "U.S. weather station sign in Hell, or Hiland Lake,[1] is an unincorporated community in Putnam Township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan.")
