[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

signature \sig"nature\, n. f. cf. it. signatura, segnatura,
   sp.  ll. signatura, from l. signare, signatum. see sign,
   v. t.
   1. a sign, stamp, or mark impressed, as by a seal.
      1913 webster

            the brain, being well furnished with various traces,
            signatures, and images.               --i. watts.
      1913 webster

            the natural and indelible signature of god, which
            human souls . . . are supposed to be stamped with.
                                                  --bentley.
      1913 webster

   2. especially, the name of any person, written with his own
      hand, employed to signify that the writing which precedes
      accords with his wishes or intentions; a sign manual; an
      autograph.
      1913 webster

   3. physiol. an outward mark by which internal
      characteristics were supposed to be indicated.
      1913 webster

            some plants bear a very evident signature of their
            nature and use.                       --dr. h. more.
      1913 webster

   4. old med. a resemblance between the external characters
      of a disease and those of some physical agent, for
      instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet
      fever and a red cloth; -- supposed to indicate this agent
      in the treatment of the disease.
      1913 webster

   5. mus. the designation of the key when not c major, or
      its relative, a minor by means of one or more sharps or
      flats at the beginning of the staff, immediately after the
      clef, affecting all notes of the same letter throughout
      the piece or movement. each minor key has the same
      signature as its relative major.
      1913 webster

   6. print.
      a a letter or figure placed at the bottom of the first
          page of each sheet of a book or pamphlet, as a
          direction to the binder in arranging and folding the
          sheets.
      b the printed sheet so marked, or the form from which it
          is printed; as, to reprint one or more signatures.
          1913 webster

   note: star signatures as a, 1 are the same characters,
         with the addition of asterisks, used on the first pages
         of offcuts, as in 12mo sheets.
         1913 webster

   7. pharm. that part of a prescription which contains the
      directions to the patient. it is usually prefaced by s or
      sig. an abbreviation for the latin signa, imperative of
      signare to sign or mark.
      1913 webster
see also:
sign 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

signature \sig"nature\, v. t.
   to mark with, or as with, a signature or signatures.
   1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

signature
     n 1: your name written in your own handwriting
     2: a distinguishing style; "this room needs a woman's touch"
        syn: touch
     3: a melody used to identify a performer or a dance band or
        radio/tv program syn: signature tune, theme song
     4: the sharps or flats that follow the clef and indicate the
        key syn: key signature
     5: a sheet with several pages printed on it; it folds to page
        size and is bound with other signatures to form a book
see also:
touch signature tune theme song key signature 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

239 moby thesaurus words for "signature":
   id card, john hancock, ok, smyth sewing, x, accent, accent mark,
   acceptance, accommodation, acknowledgment, acknowledgments,
   adjustment, affirmance, affirmation, approbation, approval,
   arrangement, article, authentication, authorization, autograph,
   back, back matter, backing, badge, banner, bar, bastard title,
   bibliography, bibliopegy, binder board, binding, book, book cloth,
   book cover, book jacket, bookbinding, bookcase, by-line, calligram,
   calling card, cancel, card, case, casemaking, casing-in,
   catch line, catchword, certification, chapter, character,
   characteristic, christcross, cipher, citation, clause, closing,
   collating, collating mark, colophon, conclusion, confession,
   confirmation, contents, contents page, copyright page, countermark,
   countersign, countersignature, counterstamp, cover, credentials,
   credit line, cross, custos, dedication, device, differentia,
   direct, dog tag, dot, dust cover, dust jacket, earmark, endleaf,
   endorsement, endpaper, endsheet, errata, expression mark, fascicle,
   fermata, flyleaf, folding, folio, footband, fore edge, foreword,
   front matter, gathering, gluing-off, go-ahead, green light,
   half-title page, hallmark, hand, hard binding, head, headband,
   hold, identification, identification badge, identification tag,
   idiosyncrasy, image, imprimatur, imprint, index, indicant,
   indicator, initials, ink, inscription, insignia, introduction,
   jacket, key signature, keynote, lead, leaf, letter of introduction,
   library binding, ligature, lining, lining-up, makeup, mark,
   mark of signature, measure, mechanical binding, metronomic mark,
   monogram, niggerhead, nod, notarization, notation, note, number,
   okay, page, paragraph, passage, pause, peculiarity,
   perfect binding, permission, phrase, picture, plastic binding,
   preface, preliminaries, presa, press card, property, ratification,
   recto, reference, representation, representative, reverso,
   rounding, rubber stamp, running title, saddle stitching, sanction,
   seal, sealing, section, segno, sentence, serial number, settlement,
   sewing, sheet, side sewing, sigil, sign, sign manual, signal,
   signet, signing, slipcase, slipcover, slur, smashing, soft binding,
   solemnization, spiral binding, stamp, stamp of approval, stamping,
   stapling, subscribe, subscription, subtitle, sure sign, swell,
   symbol, symptom, table of contents, tail, tailband, telltale sign,
   tempo mark, tessera, text, the nod, theme song, tie,
   time signature, tipping, title, title page, trademark, trait,
   tribute, trim size, trimming, type page, validation, verse, verso,
   vinculum, visa, vise, visiting card, warrant, wire stitching,
   wrapper

[5] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

signature
     
        1. a set of function symbols with arities.
     
        2.  or sig a few lines of information about the
        sender of an electronic mail message or news posting.
        most unix mail and news software will automagically append
        a signature from a file called .signature in the user's home
        directory to outgoing mail and news.
     
        a signature should give your real name and your e-mail
        address since, though these appear in the headers of your
        messages, they may be munged by intervening software.  it is
        currently 1994 hip to include the url of your home page
        on the world-wide web in your sig.
     
        the composition of one's sig can be quite an art form,
        including an ascii logo or one's choice of witty sayings
        see sig quote, fool file.  however, large sigs are a
        waste of bandwidth, and it has been observed that the size
        of one's sig block is usually inversely proportional to one's
        prestige on the net.
     
        see also doubled sig, sig virus.
     
        2.  a concept very similar to abstract base
        classes except that they have their own hierarchy and can
        be applied to compiled classes.  signatures provide a means
        of separating subtyping and inheritance.  they are
        implemented in c++ as patches to gcc 2.5.2 by gerald
        baumgartner .
     
        ftp://ftp.cs.purdue.edu/pub/gb/.
     
        2001-01-05
     
     
see also:
arities electronic mail news posting unix automagically 
home directory e-mail address headers munged url 
home page world-wide web ascii sig quote fool file 
bandwidth doubled sig sig virus abstract base classes hierarchy 
classes subtyping inheritance c++ gcc 
lt;ftp://ftp.cs.purdue.edu/pub/gb/gt; 

[6] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

signature, eccl. law. the name of a sort of rescript, without seal, 
containing the supplication, the signature of the pope or his delegate, and 
the grant of a pardon dict. dr. can. h.v. 

[7] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

signature, pract. contr. by signature is understood the act of putting down 
a man's name, at the end of an instrument, to attest its validity. the name 
thus written is also called a signature. 
     2. it is not necessary that a party should write his name himself, to 
constitute a signature; his mark is now held sufficient though he was able 
to write. 8 ad.  el. 94; 3 n.  per. 228; 3 curt. 752; 5 john. 144, a 
signature made by a party, another person guiding his band with his consent, 
is sufficient. 4 wash. c. c. 262, 269. vide to sign. 

Signature >> S Words
Signature, definition of term: Signature
signature_pag1.html

Time Signature >> T Words
Time Signature, definition of term: Time Signature
time+signature_pag1.html