Medieval Semiotics (meier-oeser, Stephan) / quote 3 of 30
Words signify, as it were, infinitely many things
Even if impositio in the described sense is of pivotal importance for the constitution of linguistic meaning, the signification of words is by no means limited to it: “a vocal expression signifies many things for which it is not imposed, as it signifies all those things that bear an essential relation to the thing for which the word is imposed.”[34] In this way, Bacon claims, words signify, as it were, infinitely many things.