| sign |
| Definition: In semiotics, the atomic unit of meaning — i.e., the smallest unit of distinguishable meaning. |
| Example: A word, a mathematical symbol, an image, a gesture, etc. |
| Etymology: The word derives via Old French from the Latin signum, mark or symbol. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the semiotic sense of the word — "a symbol having some special importance" — is from circa 1290: "Heo made þe signe of þe croiz." (S. Eng. Leg. I. 84) |