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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

sign

/saɪn/
A visible fact that shows that something exists or may happen.

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    • derived
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    • meaning component
    • sound component
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English signe, sygne, syng, seine, sine, syne, from Old English seġn (“sign; mark; token”) and Old French signe, seing (“sign; mark; signature”); both from Latin signum (“a mark; sign; token”); root uncertain. Doublet of signum and signal. Partially displaced native token.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English signen, seinen, seinien, partly from Old English seġnian (“to mark; sign”) and partly from Anglo-Norman seigner, seiner et al., Old French signer et al., and their source Latin signāre (“to mark, seal, indicate, signify”); all from Latin signum (“a mark, sign”); see Etymology 1, above. Compare sain.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*sek- “to cut”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*sekʷ- “to follow”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishsigne
      • inheritedOld Englishseġn “sign; mark; token”
        • derivedOld Frenchsigne
          • derivedLatinsignum “mark”
            • inheritedProto-Italic*segnom
              • partProto-Indo-European*-nós
    • inheritedMiddle Englishsignen
      • inheritedOld Englishseġnian “to mark; sign”
        • derivedAnglo-Normanen
          • derivedOld Frenchsigner
            • derivedLatinsignare “to mark, seal, indicate, signify”

    Related: English signal (doublet), English signum (doublet)

    Meanings

    noun
    1. A visible fact that shows that something exists or may happen.
    2. An omen.
    3. A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, can be detected objectively by someone other than the patient.
    4. A mark or another symbol used to represent something.
    5. Physical evidence left by an animal.
    6. A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures.
    verb
    1. To seal (a document etc.) with an identifying seal or symbol.
    2. To mark, to put or leave a mark on.
    3. To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it.
    4. More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc.
    5. To write (one's name) as a signature.
    6. To write one's signature.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: sign