Borrowed from Middle French signature, or from Medieval Latin signātūra, future active periphrastic of verb signāre ("to sign") from signum ("sign"), + -tūra, feminine of -tūrus, future active periphrastic suffix.

• (British) IPA: /ˈsɪɡnət͡ʃə(ɹ)/, /ˈsɪɡnɪt͡ʃə(ɹ)/
• (US) enPR: sĭg′nəchər, sĭg′nĭchər, IPA: /ˈsɪɡnət͡ʃɚ/, /ˈsɪɡnɪt͡ʃɚ/
• (Australia) IPA: /ˈsɪɡnɪt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

signature (plural signatures)

1. A person's name, written by that person, used as identification or to signify approval of accompanying material, such as a legal contract.
   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC ↗:

     Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […] his clerks […] understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there. For his signature, however, that was different.

2. An act of signing one's name; an act of producing a signature.
3. (medicine) The part of a doctor’s prescription containing directions for the patient.
4. (music) Signs on the stave indicating key and tempo, composed of the key signature and the time signature.
5. (printing) A group of four (or a multiple of four) sheets printed such that, when folded, they become a section of a book.
6. (computing) A pattern used for matching the identity of a virus, the parameter types of a method, etc.
7. (cryptography) Data attached to a message that guarantees that the message originated from its claimed source.
8. (figurative) A mark or sign of implication.
   • 1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693:

     the natural and indelible signature of God, which human souls […] are supposed to be stamped with

   • 1975, United States. Office of Noise Abatement and Control, First Report on Status and Progress of Noise Research and Control Programs in the Federal Government, volume 1, pages 6–13:

     The TACOM Vehicle Signature Reduction program is concerned with reducing the noise signature detectability of military vehicles in combat.

9. A dish that is characteristic of a particular chef.
10. (mathematics) A tuple specifying the sign of coefficients in any diagonal form of a quadratic form.
11. (medicine, obsolete) A resemblance between the external character of a disease and those of some physical agent, for instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet fever and a red cloth; supposed to indicate this agent in the treatment of the disease.
12. (internet) Text (or images, etc.) appended to a user's emails, newsgroup posts, forum posts, etc. as a way of adding a personal touch or including contact details.

    Synonyms: sig, siggy

    Your signature must not exceed three lines of text, or 600 pixels in height.

    forum signature generator

• French: signature
• German: Unterschrift, Signatur
• Italian: firma
• Portuguese: firma, assinatura
• Russian: по́дпись
• Spanish: firma

• French: signature
• Russian: по́дпись

• French: cahier
• Russian: тетра́дь

• French: signature
• German: Signatur
• Russian: сигнату́ра

• French: signature

• French: signature

signature (not comparable)

1. Distinctive, characteristic, indicative of identity.

   Synonyms: iconic

   Rabbit in mustard sauce is my signature dish.

   The signature route of the airline is its daily flight between Buenos Aires and Madrid.

   • 2001, Lawrence J. Vale, Sam Bass Warner, Imaging the city: continuing struggles and new directions:

     Consider Las Fallas of Valencia, Spain, arguably the most signature of signature ephemera.

   • 2005, Paul Duchscherer, Linda Svendsen, Beyond the bungalow: grand homes in the arts & crafts tradition:

     Considered the most signature effect of the Tudor Revival style, half-timbering derived its distinctive […] .

   • 2005, Brett Dawson, Tales from the 2004-05 Fighting Illini:

     But it was perhaps the most signature shot Williams ever made in an Illinois uniform, a bullying basket in which he used his power to pound Stoudamire, […] .

   • 2005, CBS News website, Paul Winchell Dead At Age 82 ↗:

     He credited his wife, who is British, for giving him the inspiration for Tigger's signature phrase: TTFN#English|TTFN. TA-TA for now.

• Russian: фи́рменный