Etymology

floating signifier

Today it means: A signifier—that is, a linguistic sign, a label or slogan—with a vague and variable meaning. Full definition →

French signifiant flottant
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The story

  1. French · calque ofsignifiant flottant
  2. English todayfloating signifier

Calque of French signifiant flottant as used by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.