Countersign
['kaʊntəsaɪn] or ['kaʊntɚsaɪn]
Definition
(verb.) add one's signature to after another's to attest authenticity; 'You must countersign on this line of the contract'.
Checked by Bertrand--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To sign on the opposite side of (an instrument or writing); hence, to sign in addition to the signature of a principal or superior, in order to attest the authenticity of a writing.
(a.) The signature of a secretary or other officer to a writing signed by a principal or superior, to attest its authenticity.
(a.) A private signal, word, or phrase, which must be given in order to pass a sentry; a watchword.
Edited by Dorothy
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Watch-word, password.
Typed by Joan
Examples
- The term Shibboleth has come to mean a countersign or password of a secret society since the Biblical days, when the Ephraimites, who had been routed by Jephthah, tried to pass the Jordan. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- I assumed command of the whole and the first night sent the commander of the other regiment the parole and countersign. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Not wishing to be outdone in courtesy, he immediately sent me the countersign for his regiment for the night. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Behold your papers, Jarvis Lorry, countersigned. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
Checker: Terrance