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{{selfref|For Wikipedia's policy on signatures, see [[Wikipedia:Signatures]]}}

{{one source|date=April 2024}}
[[Image:Autograf, Martin Luther, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Signature of [[Martin Luther]]]]
[[Image:Karldergrossesignatur.svg|thumb|Signiture of [[Charlemagne]]. It contains the word KAROLVS.]]
A '''signiture''' is a special way that people write their name to let others know that they understand or approve of something that was written. A signature is often used to sign a [[contract]], a [[cheque]], a [[petition]] or a [[treaty]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of SIGNATURE|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/signature|access-date=2021-09-11|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref>

When it comes to signature's there are many ways to write a signature, and signatures may look different depending on your location. In the United States, many people have a signature which is made from writing their name in their own handwriting, often in [[cursive]]. Some signatures may be written in a different style than normal writing, which may make it difficult to read. Some people practice [[autograph]]s, or fancy signatures that are hard to copy. 

Hundreds of years ago some people used sealing wax to make a copy of their [[Seal (device)|signet rings]] next to or instead of a signature. This was called their "seal. This is where the term "seal of approval" comes from. Some formal documents still use an official wax seal, such as a [[coat of arms]].
== Types of signatures ==
'''Wet signature:-''' A wet signature, ink signature, or wet ink signature is the physical marking a person makes to sign their name on a physical document, usually with a pen.

Wet signatures are the most common kind of signatures and have been used for centuries as a unique marking to indicate agreement and prevent fraud. Physical signatures have been used since 3500 B.C. in the form of seals, but it was in the 1600s when signatures written on paper became widely used and legally valid.

Although wet signatures can be forged by skilled people, they were the norm until the beginning of the 21st century, when online signatures started to become legally binding.

'''Electronic signature or E-signature:-''' Software programmes allow an electronic representation of a signature to be used that's been created by the software.

'''Digital signature:-''' A digital signature is a signature created by the authoriser such as copying, pasting and embedding a copy of their signature or a signature created using a stylus pen.

== Signature Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:JohnHancocksSignature.svg|[[John Hancock]]'s signature is the most prominent on the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] and the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The name "John Hancock" or just "Hancock" has become a synonym for "signature" in the United States.

File:Autograph of Benjamin Franklin.svg|Signature of [[Benjamin Franklin]] (1706–1790)

File:Farah_Pahlavi_signature.svg|Signature of [[Shahbanu|Empress]] [[Farah Pahlavi]] of [[Iran]] (1938–) in [[Persian language|Persian]] handwriting

File:Печат светог Саве.svg|Signature of [[Sava I of Serbia]] (1169/1174–1236), the first [[Archbishop of Serbia]], in the [[Cyrillic alphabet]]. Here, the letters [[A (Cyrillic)|А]] and [[Ve (Cyrillic)|В]] are combined into a single [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]

File:India 1952 2r stamped paper.jpg|Fingerprints may be used instead of signatures where the signer is illiterate, such as this Indian legal document from 1952

File:Vermeer autograph.svg|monogram / signature of 
</gallery>
== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Writing]]
[[Category:Authentication methods]]


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