What does consigning mean?
Consigning is the act of handing something over to another party's care or formally committing it to a particular place, condition, or fate. The word derives from the verb "consign," which combines the Latin prefix con- (meaning "together" or "thoroughly") with signare ("to mark" or "to seal"). In everyday use, consigning covers two broad situations: the physical delivery of goods — as when a shipper is consigning cargo to a warehouse, or an artist is consigning works to a gallery for sale — and the more figurative act of relegating something to an undesirable state, as in consigning an idea to oblivion or a failed policy to history. The figurative sense usually carries negative overtones of dismissal, neglect, or finality. Because of this range, the word suits formal writing about commerce, law, and institutional decisions, and it remains a precise alternative to looser verbs like sending or abandoning.
verbThe present participle and gerund of "consign": to hand over or deliver something or someone to the care, custody, or control of another; to commit something permanently to a place or condition, often one regarded as undesirable.
- To hand over or deliver goods, property, or a person into the care or custody of another party.
- To commit or assign something permanently to a place, state, or condition — frequently an unfavorable one, as in being consigned to oblivion or the scrapheap.
- (Commerce) To send goods to a dealer or agent for sale, with payment due only when they are sold.
"Consigning the old furniture to storage freed up an entire room in the house."
"By consigning her paintings to a gallery downtown, she avoided the costs of running her own shop."
"Critics accused the government of consigning rural communities to decades of neglect."
When you consign something to oblivion, you're literally 'sealing it with a mark' — the word descends from Latin consignare, 'to seal.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of consigning
Consigning comes from the verb "consign," borrowed from French consigner, which itself derives from the Latin consignare, meaning "to mark" or "to seal." The Latin term combined con- ("together") with signare ("to mark"), so the underlying image is of sealing or marking something off as delivered. The English verb was established by the late sixteenth century, and cognates sharing the same root include "sign," "signature," "signal," and "assign."
Related word forms
How consigning is actually used
"Consigning" is somewhat formal in register and appears most often in commercial contexts (shipping and sale on consignment) or in figurative expressions about relegating things to oblivion, history, or the past. In its figurative sense it typically carries negative connotations, implying dismissal or abandonment.
Easily confused with consigning
Cosigning means jointly signing a document such as a loan agreement alongside someone else, while consigning means handing over goods to another's care or committing something to a fate.