Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A seal, especially one used officially to mark documents.
  • noun The impression made with such a seal.
  • transitive verb To mark or endorse with a signet.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A seal, especially a private seal, used instead of signing the name, or in addition to it, for verification of papers or the like.
  • noun The stamp of a signet; an impression made by or as if by a signet.
  • noun The ring-shaped form of the Plasmodium of malaria. See signet-ring, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A seal; especially, in England, the seal used by the sovereign in sealing private letters and grants that pass by bill under the sign manual; -- called also privy signet.
  • noun a ring containing a signet or private seal.
  • noun (Scots Law) a judicial officer who prepares warrants, writs, etc.; originally, a clerk in the office of the secretary of state.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun an object (especially a ring) formerly used to impress a picture into the sealing wax of a document as a proof of its origin

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a seal (especially one used to mark documents officially)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, diminutive of signe, sign; see sign.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Medieval Latin signētum, diminutive of Latin signum ("sign").

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