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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Australian, Canada, UK, US:/ˈsɪɡ.nɪt/
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: cygnet
CMU ARPABET:S IH1 G N IH0 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An object (especially a ring) formerly used to impress a picture into the sealing wax of a document as a proof of its origin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a seal (especially one used to mark documents officially)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: seal, stamp
History
Etymology
From Old French signet (“small seal”), from Medieval Latin signētum, diminutive of Latin signum (“sign”).
Across languages
Translations
15 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
личен печат
(ličen pečat)
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Catalan:
segell
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Esperanto:
sigelringo
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Finnish:
sinettisormus
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Finnish:
sinettileimasin
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Finnish:
sinetti
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
German:
Signet
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Ancient Greek:
σφραγίς
(sphragís)
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Polish:
sygnet
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Portuguese:
sinete
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Russian:
печа́тка
(pečátka)
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Spanish:
sello
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Swedish:
sigill
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Ottoman Turkish:
خاتم
(hatem)
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
Ukrainian:
печа́тка
(pečátka)
— object used to impress a picture into sealing wax
