citation form vs signifier

citation form and signifier both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
citation form	Yes	No	No	No
signifier	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, signifier is a hypernym of citation form; that is, signifier is a word with a broader meaning than citation form:

citation form: the form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary
signifier: the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something

Other hypernyms of citation form include descriptor, form, word form.

citation form (noun)	signifier (noun)
the form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary	the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something