Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A seal; a signet.
  • noun A sign or an image considered magical.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A seal; an abbreviated sign or signature; also, an occult stamp, mark, or sign, as in magic or astrology. See signature, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A seal; a signature.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A seal, signature or signet.
  • noun A sign, image or symbol considered to be magical.
  • noun programming A nonalphanumeric character affixed to a symbol (e.g. variable) to indicate a property such as type or scope.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin sigillum, diminutive of signum, sign; see sekw- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin sigillum.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sigil.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • A sigil (pronounced /'sɪdʒ.ɪl/ or /'sɪg.ɪl/; pl. sigilia or sigils) is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent.

    The term sigil derives from the Latin sigilum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). The old Norse binding rune is an example of the idea. A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form. It may appear in any medium -- physical, virtual, or mental. Visual symbols are the most popular form, but the use of aural and tactile symbols in magic is not unheard of.

    _Wikipedia

    February 11, 2008