A term defined traditionally as aliquid stat pro aliquo (something that stands for something else) In the semiotic view, however, the sign is not a tangible object, like a road sign, but the relation of the sign vehicle, the referent and the sense (or between the signified and the signifier) Today, the term sign itself, apart from the specific meaning of these relations, is usually used by semioticians as an all-encompassing or all-inclusive term In other words, sign is used as an umbrella term-a term under which a host of subtypes huddle
to sign one's own death warrant: see death warrant. In marketing and advertising, a device placed on or before a premises to identify its occupant and the nature of the business done there or, placed at a distance, to advertise a business or its products. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks used signs for advertising purposes, as did the Romans, who also, in effect, created signboards by whitewashing convenient sections of walls for suitable inscriptions. Early shop signs were developed when tradesmen, dealing with a largely illiterate public, devised certain easily recognizable emblems to represent their trades. Modern sign designers use various forms of animation and light
An airport decoration Usually unnoticed except by small children Its primary function is to hide the location of various areas of the airport, i e , gate numbers, rest rooms, baggage claim, etc
place signs, as along a road; "sign an intersection"; "This road has been signed"
If an organization signs someone or if someone signs for an organization, they sign a contract agreeing to work for that organization for a specified period of time. The Minnesota Vikings signed Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys The band then signed to Slash Records
If you say that there is no sign of someone, you mean that they have not yet arrived, although you are expecting them to come. The London train was on time, but there was no sign of my Finnish friend
having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges); "he got the polarity of the battery reversed"; "charges of opposite sign"
A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice
a gesture that is part of a sign language a fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signified; "The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary"--de Saussure (medicine) any objective evidence of the presence of a disorder or disease; "there were no signs of asphixiation"