signifying

English

Verb

signifying

1. present participle and gerund of signify
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:

     Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
     that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
     and then is heard no more: it is a tale
     told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
     signifying nothing.

Noun

signifying (plural signifyings)

1. signification
   • 1939, Coleman Roberts Griffith, Psychology Applied to Teaching and Learning:

     For the sake of convenience, we may call these pointings or signifyings the secondary phase of meaning.

Related terms

• signifying chain
• signifying monkey