Etymology From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere.
1
Signifying something; carrying meaning.
a significant word or sound
a significant look
2 more examples
It was well said of Plotinus, that the stars were significant, but not efficient.1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
As evening came on, it grew prematurely dark and cloudy; while the waves acquired that dull indigo tint so significant of ugly weather.1856, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, chapter III, in The Wreck of the Golden Mary, part two, page 99:
2
Having a noticeable or major effect.
That was a significant step in the right direction.
The First World War was a significant event.
1 more example
The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.¹⁹⁶2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College, volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393:
3
Reasonably large in number or amount.
4
Having a covert or hidden meaning.
5
Mathematics, Sciences, Statistics Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).
6
Mathematics, Sciences Of a digit or figure, see significant figure.
Etymology From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere.
1
That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol.
In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
And in my glass significants there area. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid: