signifier

Etymology

signify + -er

noun

1. Something or someone that signifies, makes something more significant or important.
   If commentators have concurred on the characterization of Reagan as a synecdoche, they have also noted his status as a signifier. 2008, Diane Rubenstein, This is Not a President: Sense, Nonsense, and the American Political Imaginary
   1. (cartomancy) A card representing a querent, question, or situation.
2. (linguistics) The sound of a spoken word or string of letters on a page that a person recognizes as a sign.
   Here things are getting better and better for women and people of color, and gay men and lesbians, more and more integrated and open, and all you can think about is some stupid, lame problem with signifiers and signifieds. 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections