Signal

Origins

French. signal (Old French. also seignal, seignau, etc.), = Pg. sinal, Sp. señal, It. segnale, med.L. sign{a}l(e, a Romanic formation on L. signum SIGN: -AL1 4. Used by Chaucer and Gower, but otherwise evidenced only from the end of the 16th century.

Definitions

• 1. a. A visible sign; a badge or symbol. Obs.

b. A mark of distinction or honor. Obs.

• 2. A sign, token, or indication (of something). In later use not clearly separable from sense 4.

• 3. A sign agreed upon or understood as the occasion of concerted action, esp. one ordering the movement of troops or ships; also fig., an exciting cause.

• 4. a. A sign or notice, perceptible by sight or hearing, given especially for the purpose of conveying warning, direction, or information.

b. An object serving to convey an intimation.

c. A modulation of an electric current, electromagnetic wave, or the like by means of which information is conveyed from one place to another; the current or wave itself; also, a current or wave whose presence is regarded as conveying information about the source from which it comes.