signal

See also: Signal and signál

English

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

Noun

signal (plural signals)

1. A sign made to give notice of some occurrence, command, or danger, or to indicate the start of a concerted action.
   • Milton

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

2. An on-off light, semaphore, or other device used to give an indication to another person.
3. (of a radio, TV, telephone, internet, etc.) An electrical or 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.

4. A token; an indication; a foreshadowing; a sign.
   • Shakespeare

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

   • De Foe

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

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

Antonyms

• (useful information): noise

Derived terms

Terms derived from signal (noun)

• danger signal
• distant signal
• distress signal
• hypersignal
• hyposignal

• radio signal
• signal box
• signalman
• signal strength

• signalwoman
• smoke signal
• stop signal
• turn signal

Translations

sign made to give notice

• Arabic: إِشَارَة‎‎ f (ʾišāra)
• Armenian: ազդանշան (hy) (azdanšan)
• Bengali: সংকেত (sôngket)
• Catalan: senyal (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 信號 (zh), 信号 (zh) (xìnhào)

• Czech: znamení 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
• German: Signal (de) n
• Greek: σήμα (el) n (síma)
• Hebrew: אות‎‎ (he) m, סיגנל‎‎ m
• Hungarian: jel (hu)

• Italian: segnale (it) m
• Japanese: 信号 (ja) (しんごう, shingō)
• Lithuanian: signalas (lt) m
• Malay: isyarat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: signal n

  Nynorsk: signal n

• Polish: sygnał (pl) m
• Portuguese: sinal (pt) m
• Romanian: semnal (ro)
• Russian: сигна́л (ru) m (signál)
• Spanish: señal (es) f
• Swahili: ishara (sw)
• Swedish: signal (sv) c
• Telugu: సంజ్ఞ (te) (sañjña) (1), సంకేతం (te) (saṅkētaṃ) (1, 2)
• Thai: สัญญาณ (th) (sǎn-yaan)
• Turkish: sinyal (tr)

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
• 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.

Derived terms

• missignal
• oversignal
• undersignal

Translations

to indicate

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

   • Milton

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

Related terms

• signature (adjective)

Anagrams

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

---

Danish

Noun

signal n (singular definite signalet, plural indefinite signaler)

1. a signal

---

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 le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• lignas

---

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

• faresignal
• nødsignal
• radiosignal
• stoppsignal

References

• “signal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Medieval Latin signale

Noun

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

1. a signal

Derived terms

• faresignal
• nødsignal
• radiosignal
• stoppsignal

References

• “signal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

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

---

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

---

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