signifer

English

Etymology

From Latin signifer , from signum (“sign”) + ferō (“to bear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɡnɪfə(ɹ)/

Adjective

signifer (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Bearing signs.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:

     the circle called Signifer, or the Zodiake

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “signifer”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• fringies, Feringis, fire sign

Latin

Etymology

From signum (“sign”) +‎ -fer (“carrying”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈsiɡ.ni.fer/, [ˈs̠ɪŋnɪfɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsiɲ.ɲi.fer/, [ˈsiɲːifer]

Adjective

signifer (feminine signifera, neuter signiferum); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

1. sign-bearing, image-bearing,
2. bearing the heavenly signs or constellations, starry

   "sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam." (But may the sign-bearer, Saint Michael, lead them into the holy light)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	signifer	signifera	signiferum		signiferī	signiferae	signifera
genitive	signiferī	signiferae	signiferī		signiferōrum	signiferārum	signiferōrum
dative	signiferō	signiferae	signiferō		signiferīs
accusative	signiferum	signiferam	signiferum		signiferōs	signiferās	signifera
ablative	signiferō	signiferā	signiferō		signiferīs
vocative	signifer	signifera	signiferum		signiferī	signiferae	signifera

Descendants

• Catalan: signífer
• Spanish: signífero

Noun

signifer m (genitive signiferī); second declension

1. standard-bearer, sign-bearer, ensign
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.585–586:

     signa, decus bellī, Parthus Rōmāna tenēbat,
     Rōmānaeque aquilae signifer hostis erat.

     The Roman [military] standards – the glory of war – a Parthian was holding, and the standard-bearer of the Roman eagle was an enemy.
     (See: Phraates V; aquilifer; signifer.)

2. leader, chief
3. the sky, heavens

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).

	singular	plural
nominative	signifer	signiferī
genitive	signiferī	signiferōrum
dative	signiferō	signiferīs
accusative	signiferum	signiferōs
ablative	signiferō	signiferīs
vocative	signifer	signiferī

Descendants

• Catalan: signífer
• Italian: signifero
• Portuguese: signífero

References

• “signifer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “signifer”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• signifer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the zodiac: orbis signifer