call sign

See also: callsign and call-sign

English

Alternative forms

• callsign, call-sign

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

Examples (military call signs)
CHARLIE PAPA D6P

call sign (plural call signs)

1. (broadcasting) A combination of letters and numbers used to identify a radio or television station.

   Synonym: call letters

2. (military) Any combination of characters or pronounceable words, which identifies a communication facility, a command, an authority, an activity, or a unit; used primarily for establishing and maintaining communications.

   Synonym: CS

   Coordinate terms: name, handle, alias

   • 1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture):

     Charlie: I'm Charlotte Blackwood.
     Maverick: I'm Maverick.
     Charlie: Did your mother not like you?
     Maverick: No, it's my call sign.

   • 2023 June 17, Dan Sabbagh, “‘It’s 21st-century warfare’: on Ukraine’s counteroffensive frontline”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Four drone operators, led by Shved, whose call sign means “the Swede” on account of his blond hair, […]

     (Can we archive this URL?)

Derived terms

• collective call sign
• indefinite call sign
• international call sign
• net call sign
• tactical call sign

Translations

letters used to identify a station

• Arabic: رَمْز نِدَاء m (ramz nidāʔ)
• Belarusian: пазыўны́ m (pazywný)
• Bulgarian: повиква́телен знак m (povikvátelen znak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無線電呼號 / 无线电呼号 (wúxiàndiàn hūhào)

• Czech: volací znak m, volací značka f
• Danish: kaldesignal (da) n
• Dutch: roepletters pl
• Faroese: kallitekin
• Finnish: kutsumerkki, kutsutunnus
• French: indicatif d'appel m, indicatif (fr) m
• Galician: indicativo (gl) m
• German: Rufzeichen (de) n, Anrufzeichen n
• Greek: σημάδι κλήσης n (simádi klísis)
• Hungarian: hívójel (hu)
• Icelandic: kallmerki n
• Italian: segnale di chiamata m, indicativo di chiamata m
• Japanese: 呼出符号 (yobidashi fugō), 識別信号 (shikibetsu shingō), コールサイン (kōru sain)
• Korean: 호출부호(呼出符號) (hochulbuho), 콜사인 (kolsain)
• Latin: indicativum
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kallesignal n, anrop

  Nynorsk: kallesignal n, tilrop

• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: شِناسِهٔ تَماس, عَلامَتِ تَماس

• Polish: znak wywoławczy m
• Portuguese: indicativo (pt) m
• Romanian: indicativ de apel (ro) n
• Russian: позывно́й (ru) m (pozyvnój)
• Slovak: volacia značka f, volací znak m
• Spanish: indicativo (es) m
• Swedish: anropssignal (sv) c
• Turkish: çağrı kodu
• Ukrainian: позивни́й m (pozyvnýj)

Anagrams

• callings