What does the sign mean: Definition of signs - What does sign mean, Meaning and Concept

What does the sign mean: Definition of signs - What does sign mean, Meaning and Concept
The word sign is derived from the Latin word signum . It is a term that describes an element, phenomenon or material action that, by convention or nature, serves to represent or replace another. A sign is also that which gives indications or signs of a certain thing (“The president blushed, a sign of his shame”) and a figure used in writing and printing.

Starting from that meaning in which sign is synonymous with a sample or indication of a certain issue, it must be stressed that it is common to use that term in the police field. An example of this that we are exposing can be the following one: "The corpse had signs of violence, which came to leave patent that the assassin and the victim had faced before the death of this one".

A sign of linguistic character is a reality that can be perceived by one or more human senses and that refers to another real plane that is not present. It is composed of a signifier, a meaning and a referent, linked inseparably by meaning.

The punctuation marks are, on the other hand, own tools of Western writing that emerged in order to ensure that the texts were easier to understand. They are usually used to indicate pauses. Since writing is a form of communication that involves a linear construction, punctuation marks allow us to separate ideas, hierarchize them and put them in order.

In this context, it is also interesting to keep in mind the characteristics of diacritics, graphic signs that give considerable value to written signs. The orthographic accents, the umlaut and the tilde of the ñ, for example, are some of the diacritics.

In the same way, we cannot ignore the signs that are used in the field of Mathematics and that are fundamental when developing those. In particular, we must highlight the plus and minus signs for addition and subtraction, or the signs of a number that determine whether it is positive or negative.

For medicine, on the other hand, a clinical sign is any concrete manifestation that may be associated with a disease or disorder that alters health. In this way, the disease becomes evident in the biology of those who have contracted it.

In the cinematographic field, we have also given a lot of prominence to the term that concerns us in films such as, for example, The Six Signs of Light. In 2007, the production was premiered around the world, directed by David L. Cunnigham and starring Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston and Frances Conroy.

Specifically said film, inspired by the novel The Dark is Rising by the writer Susan Cooper, tells the story of a young man (Will Stanton) who discovers a good day that is the last of a series of immortal warriors who have as mission to fight against the different forces of evil to prevent the world from falling into its clutches.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the zodiacal signs, which indicate the place of the zodiac where the Sun appears ascending at the time of the birth of a person. The traditional western signs are twelve.

What is Sign?

It is known as a sign to the object or material phenomenon that, naturally or conventionally, represents and replaces another object or signal.

Also, it may be the gesture made with some part of the body to express or indicate something. For example: the deaf or I made a sign to know where the exit was.

On the other hand, in mathematics, the sign allows identifying the nature of the quantities and the operations that must be executed with them. For example: signs more or less, sign of multiplication, sign greater or less than, sign infinity, among others.

Finally, linguistic signs are the minimum unit of the sentence constituted by a meaning, which is the concept, and a signifier, which is the acoustic image. For example: when describing a computer, all its characteristics are identified, while the individual forms the image in his brain.

Punctuation marks

The punctuation of the written texts gives clues to the reader about the intonation and pauses of speech. The correct interpretation of the written messages depends largely on it, since it is of great help to resolve ambiguities of meaning or the intentionality that the individual prints to the messages, which in the speech is resolved through intonation.

There are different types of punctuation marks, which each has its functions such as period, comma, colon, semicolon, ellipsis, question marks and admiration.

Sign in medicine

In medicine, clinical signs are the different objective or visible manifestations because of a disease or alteration in the health status of the individual. The signs allow the health professional to make a diagnosis, and thus apply the appropriate treatment.

In relation to the above, there are two types of signs: positive and negative signs. In the first, the manifestation of the sign is fundamental to diagnose a disease, however, the second the absence of the sign is significant for medical analysis.

Sign in music

In music, musical signs are any of the characters with which music is written. They are used in the scores to guide the musician in the interpretation of a musical composition.

Some of the signs are the notes (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si); the keys (treble key, key of fa, key of do); the silences, alterations, patterns or staves.

Signs of the zodiac

In astrology, the constellations of the zodiac originate the twelve signs of the zodiac, which is represented to each one with a symbol. These twelve signs of the zodiac represent twelve basic personalities, together with their characteristics, virtues, and defects.

In this sense, the position of the stars governs the personality of the human being. Therefore, the position of the Sun and the planets at birth will reveal the sign to which the individual belongs.

Other cultures with an astrological tradition such as China give importance to this point, although they propose a different zodiac, based on twelve annual cycles of animals.