In the sign for "important" your hands start in front of your belly and arc up and out to the sides then come together in front of your chest:
IMPORTANT:
:The handshape is a sideways (palm-in) "F"-hand
IMPORTANT:
Animation: IMPORTANT
Note:
The sign for "important" can also mean "worthy."
Note:
If you omit the first part of the sign (the big arcing movement) and just do the very last part of the sign (where the "F" hands come together) using a double movement this sign can mean "worth" (as in "the cost of or value of something."
Lexicographer note: I wonder if the sign for "important" evolved from the depiction of "coins" using the "F" handshape. Chinese Sign Language (at least one version at one time) seems to make strong use of the "F" handshape for money-related signing -- raising the "F" hand or hands higher to indicate more of it. - Bill
