Signify
/ˈsɪɡ.nɪ.faɪ/noun
To mean, represent, or be a sign of something.
Did you know?Signify ultimately comes from Latin *significare*, “to make known by signs,” built from *signum* (“mark, token, sign”) and *facere* (“to make”), showing how ancient Romans treated meaning as something physically produced.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sekw-
“to follow, notice”
Latin
Latin
signum
“a mark, token, sign, or military standard”
Latin
Latin
significare
“to indicate, denote, make known by signs”
Old French
Old French
signifier
“to mean, signify”
Middle English
English
signifien
“to mean, represent, or indicate”
Modern English
English
signify
“to mean or represent something”