significanza

Significanza is the Italian term for significance, used across disciplines to denote importance, relevance, or meaning in a given context. It can refer to the practical importance of an event or object, as well as the interpretive meaning attributed to signs, actions, or data.

Etymology: from Latin significans, from significare “to signify,” from signum “mark, sign.” In Italian, significanza is formed to express importance or meaning and is used in scientific, scholarly, and everyday language.

In statistics and research, statistical significanza refers to the probability that an observed effect reflects a real phenomenon rather than sampling variation, typically assessed using a p-value and an alpha threshold. A result can be statistically significant without implying substantial practical importance.

In linguistics and semiotics, significanza denotes the meaning or interpretive value of signs and symbols, including denotation, connotation, and context-dependent interpretation; signification studies examine how language and symbols convey messages.

In culture and philosophy, cultural or historical significanza refers to the importance of artifacts, events, or persons within a community, while normative significance concerns the moral or practical implications of actions, decisions, or policies.

See also: statistical significance, signification, significance level.