Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Signify \Sig"ni*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Signified}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Signifying}.] [F. signifier, L. significare; signum a
sign + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See {Sign}, n., and
{-fy}.]
1. To show by a sign; to communicate by any conventional
token, as words, gestures, signals, or the like; to
announce; to make known; to declare; to express; as, a
signified his desire to be present.
I 'll to the king; and signify to him That thus I
have resign'd my charge to you. --Shak.
The government should signify to the Protestants of
Ireland that want of silver is not to be remedied.
--Swift.
2. To mean; to import; to denote; to betoken.
He bade her tell him what it signified. --Chaucer.
A tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. --Shak.
Note: Signify is often used impersonally; as, it signifies
nothing, it does not signify, that is, it is of no
importance.
Syn: To express; manifest; declare; utter; intimate; betoken;
denote; imply; mean.
Source : WordNet®
signify
v 1: denote or connote; "`maison' means `house' in French"; "An
example sentence would show what this word means" [syn:
{mean}, {intend}, {stand for}]
2: convey or express a meaning; "These words mean nothing to
me!"; "What does his strange behavior signify?"
3: make known with a word or signal; "He signified his wish to
pay the bill for our meal"
[also: {signified}]
signified
n : the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word
or expression or situation can be interpreted; "the
dictionary gave several senses for the word"; "in the
best sense charity is really a duty"; "the signifier is
linked to the signified" [syn: {sense}]
signified
See {signify}