character vs sign

character

noun
  • A written or printed symbol, or letter. 

  • Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength. 

  • A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group. 

  • A being involved in the action of a story. 

  • A person or individual, especially one who is unknown. 

  • Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty. 

  • One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character. 

  • A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene. 

  • A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type. 

  • A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma. 

sign

noun
  • Sign language in general. 

  • An astrological sign. 

  • A specific gesture or motion used to communicate by those with speaking or hearing difficulties; now specifically, a linguistic unit in sign language equivalent to word in spoken languages. 

  • A wonder; miracle; prodigy. 

  • A perceptible (e.g. visible) indication. 

  • A property of the body that indicates a disease and, unlike a symptom, can be detected objectively by someone other than the patient. 

  • A military emblem carried on a banner or standard. 

  • Physical evidence left by an animal. 

  • A clearly visible object, generally flat, bearing a short message in words or pictures. 

  • A semantic unit, something that conveys meaning or information (e.g. a word of written language); (linguistics, semiotics) a unit consisting of a signifier and a signified concept. (See sign (semiotics).) 

  • An omen. 

  • Positive or negative polarity, as denoted by the + or - sign. 

verb
  • To write (one's name) as a signature. 

  • To validate or ratify (a document) by writing one's signature on it. 

  • To communicate using gestures to (someone). 

  • To bless (someone or something) with the sign of the cross; to mark with the sign of the cross. 

  • To engage (a sports player, musician etc.) in a contract. 

  • To determine the sign of 

  • To cross oneself. 

  • To furnish (a road etc.) with signs. 

  • More generally, to write one's signature on (something) as a means of identification etc. 

  • To write one's signature. 

  • To finalise a contractual agreement to work for a given sports team, record label etc. 

  • To use sign language. 

  • To communicate or make known (a meaning, intention, etc.) by a sign. 

  • To calculate or derive whether a quantity has a positive or negative sign. 

  • To mark, to put or leave a mark on. 

  • To communicate using a gesture or signal. 

How often have the words character and sign occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )