Make Your Point: SIGNET

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pronounce SIGNET:

SIG nut

connect this word to others:

As I've mentioned before, words like sign, signal, and significant trace back to the Latin signum, meaning "a mark."

So does signet, the word we're checking out today. It literally means "a little sign, a little mark." (Cute, right?)

See if you can recall these other members of the signum family:

1. To sign___ is to show something or represent it. (If you said signal, that works! But think of another.)

2. To __sign is to leave a role, give something up, or accept an unhappy situation, as if officially marking the choice down in a book of records.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

A signet is a little mark or stamp, often used to identify someone or show their approval.

And more figuratively, a signet of something is a little official sign or indicator of it.

When you see the word "signet" these days, it's usually in the phrase "signet ring." As you can see, a signet ring has a little stamp in it that you can place into wax to seal a letter or mark it with your official approval.

We'll keep these visuals in mind as we apply the word "signet" figuratively.

(Source)

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "The envelope was sealed with a signet;" "Ron's hair is bright red, the signet of the Weasley family."

Also an adjective: "He wore a signet ring."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "signets."

how to use it:

Like I mentioned, most of the time when you see "signet" these days, it's in reference to signet rings, which remain popular.

But when you want to sound formal, poetic, or old-fashioned, you can use "signet" (instead of "sign," "seal," "stamp," or "symbol") to describe some mark or other observable thing that seems to represent something abstract, like a feeling, a quality, a change, or an experience. Call that mark or thing "the signet of" that abstract thing.

Like this: "On Dorothy's forehead there remains a kiss from the good witch, a signet of her protection." Here's Silas Wilder: "that signet of waning years, the first grey hair."

examples:

"Mr. Yang has a tattoo on his arm... with ancient signets. They represent his parents' last names."
— Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 25 January 2020

"the Southern Cross shimmering like a signet of hope—"
— Christopher Buckley, "Desire," 2025

has this page helped you understand "signet"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "signet" without saying "sign" or "signal."

try it out:

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the poem "Queen Mab" when he was only eighteen and, apparently, already disgusted with humanity:

"Commerce has set the mark of selfishness,
The signet of its all-enslaving power,
Upon a shining ore, and called it gold;
Before whose image bow the vulgar great,
The vainly rich, the miserable proud,
The mob of peasants, nobles, priests and kings,
And with blind feelings reverence the power
That grinds them to the dust of misery."

Dang. Could you talk about what he means? How is "selfishness" the signet of commerce's power? Why do you think Shelley picked the lovely word "signet" here instead of something nasty like "stain"?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Recapitate the Headlines."

I'll give you some real but decapitated headlines, along with a selection of heads, and you try to reassemble them as they were originally published. (Or, feel free to play in "wrong answers only" mode, assembling the headlines in whatever way you find funniest.) You can check out some examples here.

Try these today:

__________ buying thicker bologna
__________ contest over whose flagpole is bigger
__________ shipping 850 turtles in socks to Hong Kong

Frugal NC lottery winner has lofty plan with newfound cash:
India and Pakistan tensions spill over into
Man faces jail in US for

To see the correct versions, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of a SIGNET could be something that indicates

A. a shift in a quality.
B. the absence of a quality.
C. the permanence of a quality.

2. From a novel by George Lippard: "Aldarin, no longer weak, trembling, bent with age—but Aldarin, young and glorious, with the signet of eternal youth and power _____ upon his unfading brow!"

A. draped
B. stamped
C. planted

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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