significance

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English significaunce, from Middle French significance, from Old French significance, from Latin significantia. Doublet of signifiance.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

significance (countable and uncountable, plural significances)

1. The extent to which something matters; importance

   As a juror your opinion is of great significance for the outcome of the trial.

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 5:

     Of more significance in the nature of branch development; in the Jubulaceae, as in the Porellaceae, branches are acroscopic and normally replace a ventral leaf lobe.

2. Meaning.

   the significance of a gesture

Derived terms

• act of independent significance
• Tukey's honest significance test

Translations

extent to which something matters

• Arabic: مَعْنَى (ar) (maʕnā)
• Armenian: նշանակություն (hy) (nšanakutʻyun)
• Bashkir: әһәмиәт (əhəmiət)
• Bulgarian: значение (bg) n (značenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 重要性 (zh) (zhòngyàoxìng)

• Czech: význam (cs) m
• Danish: betydning (da)
• Dutch: betekenis (nl), belang (nl) f, importantie (nl) f
• Finnish: merkitys (fi), tärkeys (fi)
• French: importance (fr) f (1), signification (fr) f (2)
• Galician: significación (gl) f
• German: Bedeutung (de) f, Signifikanz (de) f (1)
• Hungarian: jelentőség (hu), fontosság (hu)
• Irish: tábhacht f
• Italian: significanza (it) f, significatività (it), importanza (it)
• Japanese: 重要性 (ja) (jūyōsei)
• Khmer: សារៈសំខាន់ (sarsaamkhan)
• Korean: 중요성 (ko) (jung'yoseong)
• Macedonian: зна́чење n (znáčenje), ва́жност f (vážnost)
• Malayalam: പ്രാധാന്യം (prādhānyaṁ)
• Portuguese: significância (pt) f
• Romanian: semnificanță m or n, importanță (ro) f, semnificativitate f
• Russian: значе́ние (ru) n (značénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: brìgh f, ciall f, cudthrom m
• Serbo-Croatian: znáčēnje (sh) n, znȁčāj (sh) m, vážnōst (sh) f
• Spanish: significado (es) m, significación (es) f, calado (es) m, importancia (es) f, significancia (es) f
• Swedish: betydelse (sv), vikt (sv) c, signifikans (sv) c
• Thai: ความสำคัญ (th) (kwaam-sǎm-kan)
• Turkish: önem (tr)
• Welsh: pwysigrwydd (cy)

meaning

• Armenian: իմաստ (hy) (imast)
• Bulgarian: смисъл (bg) m (smisǎl)
• Catalan: significat (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 意味 (ji³ mei⁶)

  Hokkien: 意味 (zh-min-nan) (ì-bī)

  Mandarin: 意味 (zh) (yìwèi), 意義 / 意义 (zh) (yìyì)

• Danish: betydning (da)
• Dutch: betekenis (nl) f
• Esperanto: signifo
• Finnish: tarkoitus (fi)
• French: signification (fr) f
• German: Bedeutung (de) f
• Greek: νόημα (el) n (nóima)
• Hungarian: jelentés (hu), értelem (hu)
• Japanese: 意義 (ja) (いぎ, igi), 意味 (ja) (いみ, imi)
• Korean: 의미(意味) (ko) (uimi)
• Macedonian: сми́сла f (smísla)
• Middle English: signifiaunce, significaunce
• Portuguese: significado (pt) m
• Russian: значе́ние (ru) n (značénije), смысл (ru) m (smysl)
• Scottish Gaelic: brìgh f
• Spanish: significado (es) m
• Swedish: betydelse (sv) c
• Thai: ความหมาย (th) (kwaam-mǎai)
• Tocharian B: ārth
• Turkish: anlam (tr), mana (tr)
• Vietnamese: ý nghĩa (vi) (意義 (vi))

See also

• Significance level (statistics).
• Statistical significance.

Middle English

Noun

significance

1. Alternative form of significaunce