noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American, Received-Pronunciation:/ˈsɪɡlə/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word; specifically, one used in a modern literary work to refer to an early version of a text.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A thing which represents something else; a sign, a symbol.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin siglum (“abbreviation”), possibly a contracted form of: * sigillum (“figurine, statuette; seal”), from signum (“figure, statue; seal, signet; mark, sign”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut, sever; to cut off”) or *sekw- (“to follow”)) + -ulum (diminutive suffix); or * singulum, a singular form of singulus (“apiece; every; single”, adjective), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; together”). The plural form sigla is a learned borrowing from Late Latin sigla.
Across languages
Translations
5 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Finnish:
lyhennysmerkki
— letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word
German:
Sigel
— letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word
German:
Kürzel
— letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word
Macedonian:
си́гла
(sígla)
— letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word
Macedonian:
знак
(znak)
— letter or other symbol that stands for a name or word