V sign

A hand gesture made by raising the index and middle fingers apart in a V. Depending on palm orientation and context, it can signify victory, peace, or insult.

Victory hand: A raised hand with the index and middle fingers forming a V, used as a sign of victory. The victory meaning became especially prominent during the Second World War.
Palm orientation: The direction a person's palm faces when a hand or gesture is held. Palm direction can distinguish the insulting V from the celebratory one.
Second World War: A global war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Allies and the Axis powers. The V for victory campaign gave the sign international wartime prominence.
Sign of the horns: A hand gesture made by extending the index and little fingers while folding the others. It uses a different pair of extended fingers and carries distinct meanings.
Peace symbol: A graphic sign associated with peace, formed from a circle containing a forked line. The V sign became a widely recognized peace gesture during antiwar movements.
Gesture: A movement or position of the body that communicates meaning or performs an action. The V sign communicates through a conventional hand shape rather than words.
Victor de Laveleye: A Belgian politician and broadcaster who promoted the V campaign during the Second World War. His 1941 broadcast urged listeners to use V as a sign of resistance.
Shaka sign: A hand gesture with the thumb and little finger extended, associated with Hawaii and surfing culture. Its relaxed, outward-facing shape contrasts with the V's two-finger form.
Churchill's V sign: Winston Churchill's raised two-finger gesture used to symbolize Allied victory during the Second World War. Churchill helped popularize the gesture as a wartime sign of defiance.
Nonverbal communication: The communication of information or meaning through signals other than spoken or written language. The gesture conveys social messages without speech.

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Obscene gestureRelated: Turning the palm inward can make this otherwise familiar sign insulting in some places.