significantia

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /siɡ.ni.fiˈkan.ti.a/, [s̠ɪŋnɪfɪˈkän̪t̪iä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /siɲ.ɲi.fiˈkan.t͡si.a/, [siɲːifiˈkänt̪͡s̪iä]

Etymology 1

From significāns +‎ -ia.

Noun

significantia f (genitive significantiae); first declension

1. meaning, signification
2. force, vigour (of speech)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	significantia	significantiae
Genitive	significantiae	significantiārum
Dative	significantiae	significantiīs
Accusative	significantiam	significantiās
Ablative	significantiā	significantiīs
Vocative	significantia	significantiae

Descendants

• → Old French: senefiance, cenefiance, segnefiance, segnefience, senefianche, senifiance; signifiance, signifianche (influenced by signe) (semi-learned)
  • Middle French: signifiance, senefiance (rare) (influenced by signe)
    • French: signifiance (now literary or technical)
  • Gallo: sènefiance
  • Poitevin-Saintongeais: sanefionce
  • → Middle English: signifiaunce, signefiance, signifiance, signifiauns, signifyaunce, signyfiaunce, sygnyfyaunce, syngnefiaunce, syngnefyaunce
    • English: signifiance (obsolete)
    • Middle Scots: signifiance
• → Old French: significance
  • Middle French: significance
    • French: significance
  • → Middle English: significaunce, signeficaunce, significance, significauns
    • English: significance
    • Scots: signeeficance
• → Italian: significanza
• → Portuguese: significância
• → Romanian: semnificanță (calque)
• → Spanish: significancia

Etymology 2

Participle

significantia

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural of significāns

References

• “significantia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• significantia in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• significantia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.