signal

See also: Signal and signál

English

Two-aspect railway signal

Alternative forms

• signall

Etymology

From Old French segnal, seignal or Medieval Latin signāle, noun use of the neuter of Late Latin signālis, from Latin signum.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĭgʹnəl, IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɡnəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sig‧nal

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

signal (plural signals)

1. A sequence of states representing an encoded message in a communication channel.
2. Any variation of a quantity or change in an entity over time that conveys information upon detection.
3. A sign made to give notice of some occurrence, command, or danger, or to indicate the start of a concerted action.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     All obeyed / The wonted signal and superior voice / Of this great potentate.

4. An on-off light, semaphore, or other device used to give an indication to another person.
5. (of a radio, TV, telephone, internet, etc.) An electromagnetic action, normally a voltage that is a function of time, that conveys the information of the radio or TV program or of communication with another party.

   My mobile phone can't get a signal in the railway station.

6. An action, change or process done to convey information and thus reduce uncertainty.

   He whistled to signal that we should stop.
   

7. A token; an indication; a foreshadowing; a sign.
   • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene iii]:

     The weary sun […] / Gives signal of a goodly day to-morrow.

   • (Can we date this quote by Daniel Defoe and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)

     There was not the least signal of the calamity to be seen.

8. Useful information, as opposed to noise.
9. (computing, Unix) A simple interprocess communication used to notify a process or thread of an occurrence.
10. (biochemistry) A signalling interaction between cells

Antonyms

• (useful information): noise

Derived terms

Terms derived from signal (noun)

• colour light signal
• danger signal
• distant signal
• distress signal
• home signal
• hypersignal
• hyposignal
• radio signal
• right-away signal
• semaphore signal
• signal box, signalbox
• signal bridge
• signal cabin
• signal check
• signal gantry
• signalman
• signal strength
• signalwoman
• smoke signal
• starter signal
• starting signal
• stop signal
• turn signal

 

Translations

sign made to give notice

• Albanian: sinjal (sq) m
• Arabic: إِشَارَة‎ f (ʾišāra)
• Armenian: ազդանշան (hy) (azdanšan)
• Azerbaijani: siqnal
• Belarusian: сігна́л m (sihnál), знак (be) m (znak)
• Bengali: সংকেত (sôngket)
• Bulgarian: сигна́л (bg) m (signál)
• Burmese: လက္ခဏာ (my) (lakhka.na)
• Catalan: senyal (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 信號 (zh), 信号 (zh) (xìnhào)

• Czech: znamení (cs) n, signál (cs) m
• Danish: signal n
• Dutch: signaal (nl) n, sein (nl) n
• Esperanto: signalo
• Estonian: signaal (et)
• Finnish: merkki (fi), signaali (fi)
• French: signal (fr) m
• Galician: sinal (gl) m
• Georgian: სიგნალი (signali)
• German: Signal (de) n
• Greek: σήμα (el) n (síma)
• Hebrew: אות‎ (he) m, סיגנל‎ m
• Hindi: संकेत (hi) m (saṅket), इशारा (hi) m (iśārā)
• Hungarian: jel (hu), szignál (hu)
• Italian: segnale (it) m
• Japanese: 信号 (ja) (しんごう, shingō), 合図 (ja) (あいず, aizu)
• Kazakh: сигнал (sïgnal)
• Khmer: សង្កេត (km) (sɑngkeet), តម្រុយ (km) (tɑmruy)
• Korean: 신호 (ko) (sinho)
• Kyrgyz: сигнал (ky) (signal)
• Lao: ສັນຍານ (san nyān)

• Latvian: signāls m
• Lithuanian: signalas (lt) m
• Macedonian: сигнал m (signal)
• Malay: isyarat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: signal n

  Nynorsk: signal n

• Pashto: اشاره‎ (ps) f (ešārá), سيګنل‎ m (signál), زيګنال‎ m (zignãl)
• Persian: سیگنال‎ (fa) (signâl), اشاره‎ (fa) (ešâre)
• Polish: sygnał (pl) m
• Portuguese: sinal (pt) m
• Romanian: semnal (ro)
• Russian: сигна́л (ru) m (signál), знак (ru) m (znak)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сѝгна̄л m

  Roman: sìgnāl (sh) m

• Slovak: znamenie n, signál m
• Slovene: signal m
• Spanish: señal (es) f
• Swahili: ishara (sw)
• Swedish: signal (sv) c
• Tajik: ишора (tg) (išora), ишорат (išorat), сигнал (signal)
• Telugu: సంజ్ఞ (te) (sañjña) (1), సంకేతం (te) (saṅkētaṃ) (1, 2)
• Thai: สัญญาณ (th) (sǎn-yaan)
• Turkish: sinyal (tr)
• Turkmen: signal
• Ukrainian: сигна́л m (syhnál), знак m (znak)
• Urdu: اشاره‎ m (iśāra)
• Uyghur: سىگنال‎ (signal)
• Uzbek: signal (uz), ishora (uz)
• Vietnamese: tín hiệu (vi)

device to give indication

• Catalan: senyal (ca) m
• Czech: signál (cs) m
• Danish: signal n
• Dutch: sein (nl) n
• Finnish: opastin, merkinantolaite
• French: signal (fr) m
• Galician: sinal (gl) m
• German: Signal (de) m
• Hungarian: szignál (hu), jel (hu)

• Italian: segnale (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: signal n

  Nynorsk: signal n

• Polish: sygnał (pl) m
• Portuguese: sinal (pt) m
• Romanian: semnal indicator n, semnalizator (ro) n
• Spanish: señal (es) f
• Swedish: signal (sv) c

telecommunication: electric or electromagnetic action that conveys information

• Catalan: senyal (ca) m
• Danish: signal n
• Dutch: signaal (nl) n
• Finnish: signaali (fi)
• Galician: sinal (gl) m
• Italian: segnale (it) m, campo (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: signal n

  Nynorsk: signal n

• Portuguese: sinal (pt) m
• Romanian: semnal (ro) n
• Spanish: señal (es) f
• Swedish: signal (sv) c
• Vietnamese: tín hiệu (vi)

foreshadowing

• Finnish: enne (fi), ennusmerkki (fi)

useful information as opposed to noise

• Finnish: signaali (fi)

computing: simple interprocess communication

• Finnish: signaali (fi)

• French: signal (fr)

See also

• tocsin

Verb

signal (third-person singular simple present signals, present participle (UK) signalling or (US) signaling, simple past and past participle (UK) signalled or (US) signaled)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To indicate; to convey or communicate by a signal.

   I signalled my acquiescence with a nod.

2. (transitive) To communicate with (a person or system) by a signal.

   Seeing the flames, he ran to the control room and signalled headquarters.

Derived terms

• missignal
• oversignal
• undersignal

Translations

to indicate

• Finnish: viestittää, signaloida, opastaa (fi)
• French: signaler (fr)
• German: signalisieren (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σημειόω (sēmeióō)

• Italian: segnalare (it), indicare (it)

• Lithuanian: signalizuoti
• Maori: rota (by using hands), rotarota (by using hands), whakapua (with smoke), hū (with a call)
• Russian: сигнализи́ровать (ru) (signalizírovatʹ)
• Spanish: señalar (es)

Adjective

signal (not comparable)

1. Standing above others in rank, importance, or achievement.

   a signal exploit; a signal service; a signal act of benevolence

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: Printed by J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], OCLC 228732398, page 27:

     As ſignal now in low dejected ſtate, / As earſt in higheſt, behold him where he lies.

Synonyms

• eminent, noteworthy, significant; see also Thesaurus:important or Thesaurus:notable

Related terms

• signature (adjective)

Anagrams

• Saling, algins, aligns, lasing, liangs, lingas

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Danish

Noun

signal n (singular definite signalet, plural indefinite signaler)

1. a signal

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French

Etymology

Re-latinization of Old French segnal, from Medieval Latin signale, from Late Latin signālis, from Latin signum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.ɲal/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

signal m (plural signaux)

1. signal

Related terms

• signe

Further reading

• “signal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• lignas

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Medieval Latin signale

Noun

signal n (definite singular signalet, indefinite plural signal or signaler, definite plural signala or signalene)

1. a signal

Derived terms

Terms derived from signal

• faresignal
• kallesignal

• nødsignal
• radiosignal

• stoppsignal

References

• “signal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin signale

Noun

signal n (definite singular signalet, indefinite plural signal, definite plural signala)

1. a signal

Derived terms

Terms derived from signal

• faresignal
• kallesignal

• nødsignal
• radiosignal

• stoppsignal

References

• “signal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From German Signal, from Medieval Latin signale, from Latin signum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sǐɡnaːl/
• Hyphenation: sig‧nal

Noun

sìgnāl m (Cyrillic spelling сѝгна̄л)

1. signal

Declension

Declension of signal

	singular	plural
nominative	sìgnāl	signali
genitive	signála	signala
dative	signalu	signalima
accusative	signal	signale
vocative	signale	signali
locative	signalu	signalima
instrumental	signalom	signalima

References

• “signal” in Hrvatski jezični portal

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

signal c

1. a signal

Declension

Declension of signal
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	signal	signalen	signaler	signalerna
Genitive	signals	signalens	signalers	signalernas

Anagrams

• inslag, ligans, singla, slinga

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Vilamovian

Etymology

From Old French segnal, seignal or Medieval Latin signāle, noun use of the neuter of Late Latin signālis, from Latin signum.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

signal n (plural signale)

1. signal