EMBLEM

emblem

(noun) special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.

emblem, allegory

(noun) a visible symbol representing an abstract idea

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

emblem (plural emblems)

A representative symbol, such as a trademark or logo.

Something which represents a larger whole.

Inlay; inlaid or mosaic work; something ornamental inserted in a surface.

A picture accompanied with a motto, a set of verses, etc. intended as a moral lesson or meditation.

Synonyms

• symbol

• token (to betoken)

Verb

emblem (third-person singular simple present emblems, present participle embleming, simple past and past participle emblemed)

(obsolete, transitive) To symbolize.

Source: Wiktionary


Em"blem, n. Etym: [F. emblème, L. emblema, -atis, that which is put in or on, inlaid work, fr. Gr. In, and Parable.]

1. Inlay; inlaid or mosaic work; something ornamental inserted in a surface. [Obs.] Milton.

2. A visible sign of an idea; an object, or the figure of an object, symbolizing and suggesting another object, or an idea, by natural aptness or by association; a figurative representation; a typical designation; a symbol; as, a balance is an emblem of justice; a scepter, the emblem of sovereignty or power; a circle, the emblem of eternity. "His cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek." Shak.

3. A picture accompanied with a motto, a set of verse, or the like, intended as a moral lesson or meditation.

Note: Writers and artists of the 17th century gave much attention and study to the composition of such emblems, and many collections of them were published.

Syn.

– Sign; symbol; type; device; signal; token.

– Sign, Emblem, Symbol, Type. Sign is the generic word comprehending all significant representations. An emblem is a visible object representing another by a natural suggestion of characteristic qualities, or an habitual and recognized association; as, a circle, having no apparent beginning or end, is an emblem of eternity; a particular flag is the emblem of the country or ship which has adopted it for a sign and with which it is habitually associated. Between emblem and symbol the distinction is slight, and often one may be substituted for the other without impropriety. See Symbol. Thus, a circle is either an emblem or a symbol of eternity; a scepter, either an emblem or a symbol of authority; a lamb, either an emblem or a symbol of meekness. "An emblem is always of something simple; a symbol may be of something complex, as of a transaction . . . In consequence we do not speak of actions emblematic." C. J. Smith. A type is a representative example, or model, exhibiting the qualities common to all individuals of the class to which it belongs; as, the Monitor is a type of a class of war vessels.

Em"blem, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emblemed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embleming.]

Definition: To represent by an emblem; to symbolize. [R.] Emblemed by the cozening fig tree. Feltham.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 April 2024

SUBDUCTION

(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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