Unsigned

How to spell unsigned

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce unsigned

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unsigned mean?

1. adjectiveNot bearing a signature; lacking the written name that makes a document valid or attributable.
2. adjectiveOf a musician, band, or athlete: not under contract to a record label, club, or agency.
3. adjectiveIn computing, describing a numeric value that cannot be negative because no sign bit is stored.

Unsigned in a sentence

• The bank rejected the cheque because it was unsigned.

• The festival showcased several unsigned bands hoping to attract a label.

• The function expects an unsigned integer, so passing a negative value causes an error.

• An unsigned letter arrived with no name at the bottom.

• As a talented but unsigned player, he trained alone all summer.

• Storing the count as an unsigned byte lets it range from zero to two hundred and fifty-five.

Where does unsigned come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the prefix un-, a native Germanic element meaning 'not', attached to 'sign', which English took from Old French signe and ultimately from the Latin signum, meaning a mark, token, or standard carried into battle. The verb 'to sign' originally meant to mark something, and later narrowed to the act of writing one's name as a mark of agreement. Adding un- and the adjective ending -ed produced 'unsigned', describing anything that lacks that mark. The same signum root sits behind a whole family of relatives such as 'signal', 'signature', 'design', and 'insignia'. In modern usage the word stretched naturally from unsigned letters and contracts to specialised senses in computing, where an 'unsigned' number carries no plus or minus mark, and in music, where an artist has no recording contract.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• sign (from Latin signum: mark, token)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)