Libra

Libra
Sign Sign, n. [F. signe, L. signum; cf. AS. segen, segn, a sign, standard, banner, also fr. L. signum. Cf. {Ensign}, {Resign}, {Seal} a stamp, {Signal}, {Signet}.] That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof. Specifically: (a) A remarkable event, considered by the ancients as indicating the will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen. (b) An event considered by the Jews as indicating the divine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the divine power for some special end; a miracle; a wonder. [1913 Webster]

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. --Rom. xv. 19. [1913 Webster]

It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. --Ex. iv. 8. [1913 Webster] (c) Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument. [1913 Webster]

What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign. --Num. xxvi. 10. [1913 Webster] (d) Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture. [1913 Webster]

The holy symbols, or signs, are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves. --Brerewood. [1913 Webster]

Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] (e) A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas. (f) A motion, an action, or a gesture by which a thought is expressed, or a command or a wish made known. [1913 Webster]

They made signs to his father, how he would have him called. --Luke i. 62. [1913 Webster] (g) Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb. [1913 Webster]

Note: Educaters of the deaf distinguish between natural signs, which serve for communicating ideas, and methodical, or systematic, signs, adapted for the dictation, or the rendering, of written language, word by word; and thus the signs are to be distinguished from the manual alphabet, by which words are spelled on the fingers. [1913 Webster] (h) A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard. --Milton. (i) A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice. [1913 Webster]

The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] (j) (Astron.) The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac. [1913 Webster]

Note: The signs are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox, and are named, respectively, {Aries} ([Aries]), {Taurus} ([Taurus]), {Gemini} (II), {Cancer} ([Cancer]), {Leo} ([Leo]), {Virgo} ([Virgo]), {Libra} ([Libra]), {Scorpio} ([Scorpio]), {Sagittarius} ([Sagittarius]), {Capricornus ([Capricorn]), {Aquarius} ([Aquarius]), {Pisces} ([Pisces]). These names were originally the names of the constellations occupying severally the divisions of the zodiac, by which they are still retained; but, in consequence of the procession of the equinoxes, the signs have, in process of time, become separated about 30 degrees from these constellations, and each of the latter now lies in the sign next in advance, or to the east of the one which bears its name, as the constellation Aries in the sign Taurus, etc. [1913 Webster] (k) (Alg.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division /, and the like. (l) (Med.) An objective evidence of disease; that is, one appreciable by some one other than the patient. [1913 Webster]

Note: The terms symptom and and sign are often used synonymously; but they may be discriminated. A sign differs from a symptom in that the latter is perceived only by the patient himself. The term sign is often further restricted to the purely local evidences of disease afforded by direct examination of the organs involved, as distinguished from those evidence of general disturbance afforded by observation of the temperature, pulse, etc. In this sense it is often called physical sign. [1913 Webster] (m) (Mus.) Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc. (n) (Theol.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents. [1913 Webster]

An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. --Bk. of Common Prayer. [1913 Webster]

Note: See the Table of {Arbitrary Signs}, p. 1924. [1913 Webster]

{Sign manual}. (a) (Eng. Law) The royal signature superscribed at the top of bills of grants and letter patent, which are then sealed with the privy signet or great seal, as the case may be, to complete their validity. (b) The signature of one's name in one's own handwriting. --Craig. Tomlins. Wharton. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Token; mark; note; symptom; indication; signal; symbol; type; omen; prognostic; presage; manifestation. See {Emblem}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Libra — may refer to:* Libra (astrology), an astrological sign * Libra (constellation), a star constellation in the sky * Libra (album), a 2005 album by Toni Braxton * Libra (novel), a novel by Don DeLillo * Libra (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics… …   Wikipedia

  • libra — (Del lat. libra). 1. adj. Dicho de una persona: Nacida bajo el signo zodiacal de Libra. Yo soy libra, ella es tauro. U. t. c. s.) 2. f. Moneda imaginaria o efectiva, cuyo valor varía según los países y las épocas. 3. Peso antiguo de Castilla,… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Libra — Libra, Gewichtseinheit (Pfund). Die spanische Libra = 460 g war (außer in Spanien) gebräuchlich in Mexiko, den Vereinigten Staaten Zentralamerikas, Westindien, den Staaten Südamerikas (außer Brasilien). Sie wird auch heute noch vielfach benutzt.… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • libra — lȋbra ž <G mn lȋbārā/ ī> DEFINICIJA 1. starorimska mjera za masu, funta; kasnije težinska mjera od 12,5 kg (u Španjolskoj, Portugalu, Brazilu) 2. vaga, osobito apotekarska vaga SINTAGMA libra argenti (izg. libra argènti) srebrna libra,… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • LIBRA — signum Zodiaci, quod aequinoctium facit autumnale. Virg. Georg. l. 1. v. 208. Libra die somniqueve pares ubi fecerit horas, Et medium luci, atque umbrae iam dividit orbem. Nic. Lloyd. Eam Graeci pariter et Latini sic imaginantur ??? quod librile… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • libră — LÍBRĂ s. v. băncuţă, firfiric. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007. Sursa: Sinonime  líbră, líbre, s.f. (înv.) 1. măsură de greutate, litră. 2. monedă mică, de argint. 3. nume de oaie. 4. femeie rea, obraznică. Trimis de blaurb, 30.06.2006. Sursa: DAR… …   Dicționar Român

  • libra — sustantivo femenino 1. Unidad monetaria del Reino Unido y sus antiguas colonias: libra esterlina. 2. Unidad de peso castellana que equivale a 460 gramos: En muchos mercados se compra la carne por libras. 3. Unidad de peso inglesa que equivale a… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • Libra — (Миколайки,Польша) Категория отеля: Адрес: Warszawska 28, 11 730 Миколайки, Польша …   Каталог отелей

  • Libra — (lateinisch für ‚Waage‘) steht für: Waage (Sternbild), ein Sternzeichen Libra (Roman), 1988 erschienener Roman von Don DeLillo Siehe auch: Pfund, ursprünglich libra genannte Masse Pfund (Währung), daraus abgeleitete Währungseinheit …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Libra — Li bra (l[imac] br[.a]), n.; pl. {Libr[ae]} (l[imac] br[=e]). [L., a balance.] (Astron.) (a) The Balance; the seventh sign in the zodiac, which the sun enters at the autumnal equinox in September, marked thus [libra] in almanacs, etc. (b ) A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • libra — s.f. [dal lat. libra ], ant., lett. [strumento per la misurazione del peso di un corpo] ▶◀ bilancia …   Enciclopedia Italiana

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