Medieval Semiotics (meier-oeser, Stephan) / quote 23 of 30
A mistaken assumption
In view of this it should be clear that the widespread opinion according to which in medieval philosophy the sign was characterized by the “classical definition” or the “famous formula of aliquid stat pro aliquo” (something stands for something)[53] is mistaken. It is suppositio, not significatio, that is characterized by that formula.[54] Even in Ockham's concept of sign, which comes closest to such a description, the aptitude ‘to stand for something’ is just one component of the whole function of the sign. In no case has the sign or act of signifying been conceived as a simple two-term relation of “something standing for something”.