assign

Verb

1. (transitive) To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
2. (transitive) To appoint or select (someone) for some office.
3. (transitive) To allot or give (something) as a task.
4. (transitive) To attribute or sort (something) into categories.
5. (transitive) To attribute or sort (something) into categories.
6. (transitive) To transfer (property, a legal right, etc.) from one person to another.
7. (transitive) To give (a value) to a variable.

Noun

1. An assignee.
2. (obsolete) A thing relating or belonging to something else; an appurtenance.
3. (obsolete) An assignment or appointment.
4. (obsolete) A design or purpose.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈsaɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: assignen

In summary

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Latin signō
Latin assignōlbor.
Old French assignerbor.
Middle English assignen
English assign
From Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, asigner, from Latin assignō, from ad- + signō (“mark, sign”).

Synonyms

appoint

allot

allocate

designate

give

attribute

earmark

ascribe

set

grant

depute

distribute

cede

put

yield

transfer

apportion

hand over

fix

convey

place

ordain

specify

determine

appropriate

accommodate

give way

entrust

name

delegate

attach

nominate

dispense

subpoena

summons

deal

set apart

make over

award

alienate

add

dispose of

dispose

detail

deliver

destine

divide

pass on

lay

lay out

Translations

asignar

attribuer

assegnare

assigner

zuweisen

zuteilen

assignar

toewijzen

designar

atribuir

destinar

übertragen

attribuire

assignare

allouer

Sentences

Some folk traditions assign a different attribute to each leaf of a clover .