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
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