Word.ws English Dictionary

hex sign

/ˈhɛks saɪn/

hex sign noun: a geometric design usually consisting of a star or flower placed in a circular field, used by the Fancy Dutch on buildings such as barns, often said to be intended as a ward against evil in former times.

hex sign: a geometric design usually consisting of a star or flower placed in a circular field, used by the...
Image: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

hex sign (plural hex signs)

  1. (Pennsylvania, US) A geometric design usually consisting of a star or flower placed in a circular field, used by the Fancy Dutch on buildings such as barns, often said to be intended as a ward against evil in former times.
    • This association will partially pay for the repainting of hex signs in the tourist areas.1984, Thomas Edmund Graves, The Pennsylvania German Hex Sign: A Study in Folk Process, page 256
    • Common in Dutch hex signs and a powerful framework for talismans and visual magic.1984 Futharc A Handbook of Rune Magic, Edred Thorsson, Samuel Weiser Inc, 0-87728-548-9, page 107.
  2. (Germanic) A protective symbol used in Heathenry comprising a six-petaled flower or star set within a circle, as a New Age adaptation of the above.

Examples of hex sign in a sentence

  • Note the hex signs on the barn, an old Pennsylvania Dutch custom used to ward off the evil spirits.2006, Patricia Wanger Smith, “Southeastern Berks County”, in Postcard History Series, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN:
  • The original hex signs were created by the Pennsylvania Dutch, a cultural group composed of several different groups of people.2008, Ivan E. Hoyt, Hex Signs: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Learning the Craft, Stackpole Books, →ISBN:

Forms of hex sign

pluralhex signs

Origin of hex sign

Compound of hex + sign, coined in English.

Questions about hex sign

What does hex sign mean?
Hex sign means a geometric design usually consisting of a star or flower placed in a circular field, used by the Fancy Dutch on buildings such as barns, often said to be intended as a ward against evil in former times.
How do you use hex sign in a sentence?
Note the hex signs on the barn, an old Pennsylvania Dutch custom used to ward off the evil spirits.
What part of speech is hex sign?
Hex sign is a noun.
How do you pronounce hex sign?
Hex sign is pronounced /ˈhɛks saɪn/.
What is the plural of hex sign?
The plural of hex sign is hex signs.

Words near hex sign in the dictionary

  1. hex head screws
  2. hex head wrench
  3. hex head wrenches
  4. hex key
  5. hex keys
  6. hex sign
  7. hex signs
  8. hex-
  9. hex-edit
  10. hex-edited
  11. hex-editing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hex sign (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “hex sign.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hex_sign. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.