semaphore
English
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semaphore
- /ˈsɛm.əˌfɔː/ UK
- /ˈsɛm.əˌfoɹ/ US
Where it comes from
The noun is borrowed from French sémaphore, from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma, “mark, sign, token”) + French -phore (from Ancient Greek -φόρος (-phóros, suffix indicating a bearer or carrier)). By surface analysis, sema- + -phore.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun semaphores
- Any equipment used for visual signalling by means of flags, lights, or mechanically moving arms, which are used to represent letters of the alphabet, or words. We must here take the liberty of expostulating with Sir Home [Riggs] Popham and the first Lord of the Admiralty, for having given to the telegraphic machine, invented by that gallant officer, the barbarous name of Semaphore, instead of Sematophore or Semophore—either of them ugly enough.
- A visual system for transmitting information using the above equipment; especially, by means of two flags held one in each hand, using an alphabetic and numeric code based on the position of the signaller's arms; flag semaphore. Its [the article's] object is to furnish a rule for determining the number of distinct signals which can be made by any semaphore, whatever be the number of arms or indicators, of whatever be the number of positions of each arm. In the Cyclopædia of Rees, the number of signals which the semaphores o
- A bit, token, fragment of code, or some other mechanism which is used to restrict access to a shared function or device to a single process at a time, or to synchronize and coordinate events in different processes. The thread increments the semaphore to prevent other threads from entering the critical section at the same time.
verb semaphores · semaphoring · semaphored
- To signal using, or as if using, a semaphore, with the implication that it is done nonverbally. The person intending to Semaphore will make the International Code Signal VOX (I am going to Semaphore to you), and set his Semaphore at the alphabetical sign [...] with the Indicator out, and wait until the person to whom the Semaphore signal is to be made hoists his answering pennant close up. [..
Translations
Every language
noun visual system for transmitting information
| Español | semáforo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 旗語 /旗语 qíyǔ |
| Italiano | semaforo |
| Русский | семафо́р semafór |
| עברית | סמפור semafor |
noun visual system for transmitting information using flags
| 日本語 | 手旗信号 tebata shingō |
|---|---|
| Italiano | semaforo marittimo |
| Русский | флажко́вая сигнализа́ция flažkóvaja signalizácija |
| עברית | סמפור semafor |
noun mechanism used to restrict access to a shared function or device to a single process at a time
| 日本語 | セマフォ semafo |
|---|---|
| Français | sémaphore |
| Deutsch | Semaphor |
| Ελληνικά | σηματοφόρος simatofóros |
| Русский | семафо́р semafór |
| עברית | סמפור semafor |
verb to signal using, or as if using, a semaphore
| Español | semáforo |
|---|
Talk about this word "semaphore." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/semaphore. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. semaphore. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/semaphore "semaphore." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/semaphore.Cite this
@misc{semaphore_2026,
title = {semaphore},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/semaphore},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
