"sign, indication" in seven languages

Meaningsign, indication

Spanish

señal

/seˈɲal/

fem.other source · Late Latin SIGNĀLE, a derivative of SIGNUM

Signo also exists, mostly for written symbols (signo más) and the zodiac.

French

signe

/siɲ/

masc.learned

A semi-learned form; the fully worn-down seing survives only in legal sous seing privé.

Italian

segno

/ˈseɲɲo/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

sinal

/siˈnaw/

masc.other source · Late Latin SIGNĀLE, a derivative of SIGNUM

Romanian

semn

/semn/

neut.inherited

plural: semne

Romanian turned Latin -GN- into -mn-: SIGNUM → semn, LIGNUM → lemn.

Catalan

senyal

/səˈɲal/

masc.other source · Late Latin SIGNĀLE, a derivative of SIGNUM

English

sign

/saɪn/

from Latin/French · Old French signe

English → Italiansign, indicationsegnoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SIGNUM‘mark, token, sign’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

Latin GN became the palatal ɲ: Spanish ñ, French and Italian gn. Spanish prefers the enlarged SIGNĀLE, which is English signal.

English relatives: signal, signature, design, insignia