Words I love to hate

[Gary Covington]

I might as well wade in here - English English speakers never use the word signage or signages.Plain old sign or signs does well enough.

[Joe Carillo]

That may be so, Gary, but American English speakers—Filipinos included—have been using “signage” since 1976 to specifically mean signs of identification, warning or direction, as opposed to the plain word “sign” that denotes “a mark having a conventional meaning and used in place of words or to represent a complex notion.” I find the distinction very useful myself considering that “sign” has at least seven distinct meanings as opposed to “signage,” which has only one, as we can see in this definition by my Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary:

Main Entry: signage
Function: noun
Date: 1976

 : signs (as of identification, warning, or direction) or a system of such signs

At any rate, Gary, I’d like to welcome you warmly to the Forum! I hope to hear from you often in the discussion boards.

[Gary Covington]

Hello Mr. Carillo and thanks for your reply -

The phrase 'marching orders' is making the rounds down here (In Davao) at the moment which is taken to mean 'the way to proceed'.

To a Brit,someone who's received their marching orders has been given the sack !

As to dictionaries,you have the edge.The Oxford Pocket English is my sole companion largely because I can never remember how to spell occasion or occurrence.