English > signifier: 1 sense > noun 1, communication| Meaning | The phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something. |
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| Synonyms | form, word form, descriptor |
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| Category | linguistics | The scientific study of language |
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| Narrower | abbreviation | A shortened form of a word or phrase |
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| acronym, initialism | A word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name |
| citation form, main entry word, entry word | The form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary |
| etymon, root | A simple form inferred / inferred / inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes |
| ghost word | A word form that has entered the language through the perpetuation of an error |
| plural, plural form | The form of a word that is used to denote more than one |
| root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical | (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed |
| singular, singular form | The form of a word that is used to denote a singleton |
| Broader | word | A unit of language that native speakers can identify |
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| Spanish | descriptor, forma, significante |
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| Catalan | descriptor, forma, significant |
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| Verbs | signify | denote or connote |
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