It must have a religious signification in Christianity

[Omega Force]

Hi,

Here is the sentence which I'm trying to make:

"It must have a religious signification in Christianity".

But I think it can be improved a little...

Thanks in advance.

 

[Florentia52]

Please tell us what you want your sentence to mean, and in what context you would use it. Are you asking about the word "signification?"

 

[Omega Force]

I forgot to say that "it" refers to a name.

The part which I think is probably wrong is the second half of the sentence: "a religious signification in Christianity". It's a little messy.

Also maybe "religious" and "Christianity" are redundant words...

 

[SReynolds]

I think our main issue is that we have no idea what you're trying to say. Does the name have religious significance? Or does the name represent something in Christianity? (Apparently, signification, a word I'd never heard of before, means the act or process of signifying.)

What is this sentence trying to express?

 

[JulianStuart]

There is a Spanish word that looks like the English word signification, but the translation of the Spanish word into English is "meaning" (not signification).

 

[Omega Force]

Sorry, my bad.
I thought that the words "meaning" and "signification" were synonyms (because "signification" is the French word for "meaning").
When you go to Google Translate and type "signification" (in French) it gets translated (in English) to both "signification" and "meaning". But Google Translate maybe makes mistakes.

 

[natkretep]

I have heard of signification, but this is a word used in academic writing (perhaps in the field of semiotics/semiology - the science of signs, as it were).

However, significance is a word that is used ordinarily, and you can say things like 'The name has Christian significance' if you like. Or, more down to earth, 'The name has a special Christian meaning.'

 

[Dale Texas]

Sorry, my bad.
I thought that the words "meaning" and "signification" were synonyms (because "signification" is the French word for "meaning").
When you go to Google Translate and type "signification" (in French) it gets translated (in English) to both "signification" and "meaning". But Google Translate maybe makes mistakes.

Yes, it does.

(Here's an English expression for you: "There's no "maybe" about it." =In this situation, the word maybe is inappropriate. It is a certainty. (That, for instance, Google Translate makes mistakes)

 

[JulianStuart]

Sorry, my bad.
I thought that the words "meaning" and "signification" were synonyms (because "signification" is the French word for "meaning").
When you go to Google Translate and type "signification" (in French) it gets translated (in English) to both "signification" and "meaning". But Google Translate maybe makes mistakes.

Indeed Google makes mistakes. It should be noted that English has two different words (both nouns from a signify root) : significance and signification, while French has only signification.

 

[Omega Force]

So to get back to the subject, would it be perfectly correct to say this?: "It must have a religious meaning in Christianity".
I still believe that having both the word "religious" and the word "Christianity" is redundant.
Maybe I should say instead "It must have a meaning in Christianity" or "It must have a connection with Christianity", but these two seem to me to be a little unclear.
Any better ideas?

 

[JulianStuart]

Not all religions are Christian, so there is not necessarily any redundancy - it just emphasizes that the meaning referred to is religious. It might help if you explained what "it" refers to

 

[Omega Force]

It might help if you explained what "it" refers to

As I said in post #3, "it" refers to a (first) name.

 

[natkretep]

So to get back to the subject, would it be perfectly correct to say this?: "It must have a religious meaning in Christianity".
I still believe that having both the word "religious" and the word "Christianity" is redundant.

Are you asking whether if you say 'Christian', 'religious' is unnecessary? In this context, I believe so. Doesn't work the other way round, of course, as JS indicated.

 

[bennymix]

It [the name] must have particular significance/signification in Christianity. I prefer the former.