Sign: The English word 'sign' displaced… | etymologist.ai
sign
/saɪn/·noun / verb·c. 1225·Established
Origin
'Sign' replaced OldEnglish 'tacn' (token) — and spawned 'signal,' 'signature,' 'design,' and 'seal.'
Definition
An object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else; a gesture or action used to convey meaning; to write one's name on a document to authorize it.
The Full Story
Latin13th centurywell-attested
From OldFrench 'signe' (a sign, mark, indication), from Latin 'signum' (a mark, sign, token, indication, signal, military standard, seal), possibly from PIE *sekʷ- (to follow, to see) — a sign being something one 'follows' or that 'follows' as evidence. The word replaced the native Old English 'tācn' (which survives as 'token'), a common pattern where Latin-derived terms displaced Germanic ones in abstract or institutional vocabulary. The silent 'g' in English 'sign' reflects the French spellingconvention
Did you know?
TheEnglishword 'sign' displaced the native Old English 'tācn' (which became modern 'token'). Both words mean 'a mark or indication,' but 'sign' conquered nearly all the territory: road signs, zodiac signs, sign language, signing documents. 'Token' was pushed into the narrow sense of 'a small thing representing something larger