Signature

How to spell signature

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce signature

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does signature mean?

1. nounA person's name written in their own hand as a mark of identity or agreement.
2. adjectiveDistinctive enough to identify a particular person, place or thing.

Signature in a sentence

• noun

  The contract is not binding without your signature at the bottom.

• adjective

  The chef is famous for a signature dish of slow-braised lamb.

• noun

  The bank rejected the cheque because the signature did not match their records.

• adjective

  The band closed the concert with their signature song.

Where does signature come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb signare, meaning 'to mark' or 'to set a sign on', which was itself built on the noun signum, a 'mark, token or sign'. From that verb came the medieval Latin signatura, used for the act or result of marking something. English took the word in the early 1500s by way of French, at first in technical senses to do with marking or sealing documents, and it soon settled into its modern meaning of a person's name written in their own hand as proof of identity. The same signum root sits inside a whole family of familiar relatives, including 'sign', 'signal', 'design' and 'insignia', which is a useful reminder that the silent core is plainly 'sign'. The common spelling slip is forgetting the 'g' or the 't', so it helps to picture 'sign' plus the ending you also hear in 'feature' and 'nature'.

How the word is built

• sign- (from Latin signum: a mark or sign)
• -ature (noun suffix forming the result of an action)