Symbol
['sɪmb(ə)l] or ['sɪmbl]
Definition
(noun.) something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible; 'the eagle is a symbol of the United States'.
(noun.) an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance.
Typist: Pearl--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A visible sign or representation of an idea; anything which suggests an idea or quality, or another thing, as by resemblance or by convention; an emblem; a representation; a type; a figure; as, the lion is the symbol of courage; the lamb is the symbol of meekness or patience.
(n.) Any character used to represent a quantity, an operation, a relation, or an abbreviation.
(n.) An abstract or compendium of faith or doctrine; a creed, or a summary of the articles of religion.
(n.) That which is thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty.
(n.) Share; allotment.
(n.) An abbreviation standing for the name of an element and consisting of the initial letter of the Latin or New Latin name, or sometimes of the initial letter with a following one; as, C for carbon, Na for sodium (Natrium), Fe for iron (Ferrum), Sn for tin (Stannum), Sb for antimony (Stibium), etc. See the list of names and symbols under Element.
(v. t.) To symbolize.
Typist: Pearl
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Emblem, type, sign, token, figure, representative.
Inputed by Logan
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See PARASITE]
Checked by Blanchard
Definition
n. a sign by which one knows a thing: an arbitrary or other conventional mark abbreviating methods of scientific expression as in algebra and esp. chemistry: an emblem: that which represents something else: a figure or letter representing something: (theol.) a creed compendium of doctrine or a typical religious rite as the Eucharist.—adjs. Symbol′ic -al pertaining to or of the nature of a symbol: representing by signs: emblematic: figurative: typical.—adv. Symbol′ically.—ns. Symbol′icalness; Symbol′ics the study of the history and contents of Christian creeds; Symbolisā′tion.—v.i. Sym′bolise to be symbolical: to resemble in qualities.—v.t. to represent by symbols.—ns. Sym′boliser Sym′bolist one who uses symbols; Sym′bolism representation by symbols or signs: a system of symbols: use of symbols: (theol.) the science of symbols or creeds.—adjs. Symbolist′ic -al.—ns. Symbol′ogy Symbolol′ogy the art of representing by symbols; Symbolol′atry undue veneration for symbols; Sym′bolry the use of symbols generally.
Checker: Osbert
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. Something that is supposed to typify or stand for something else. Many symbols are mere 'survivals '—things which having no longer any utility continue to exist because we have inherited the tendency to make them; as funereal urns carved on memorial monuments. They were once real urns holding the ashes of the dead. We cannot stop making them but we can give them a name that conceals our helplessness.
Checker: Rhonda
Examples
- She is represented upon her monuments in masculine garb, and with a long beard as a symbol of wisdom. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But in the vernacular, the mind proceeds directly from the symbol to the thing signified. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- If Machiavelli is a symbol of the political theorist making reason an instrument of purpose, we may take Sorel as a self-conscious representative of the impulses which generate purpose. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- This odd little symbol spins gaily round the world; it seems incredible that men would have invented and made a pet of it twice over. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The Prince ceased to be a single and secretive Machiavellian schemer, and became merely the crowned symbol of a Machiavellian scheme. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He has become the type and symbol for all such interchanges. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You may take him as a symbol of the political theorist. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The point of interest is that Plato should have used such a symbol, and that so much of the Pythagorean spirit should have prevailed in him. Plato. The Republic.
- He died rather as a symbol than as a man. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Still later, the stern sky denies that it ever wore so benign a symbol of hope. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Even now, she could not admit, to Ursula, that she wanted to keep it, as a memento, or a symbol. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- That peasant is more than a symbol of the privacy of human interest: he is a warning against the incurable romanticism which clings about the idea of a revolution. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- There is scarcely anything that we can suppose to be a religious or mystical symbol at all in his productions. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This figure was either regarded as the god or as the image or symbol of the god, for whose worship the temple existed. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It must be used because it is a symbol of the collective life of mankind in general. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- It is only by the use of words as symbols that scientific thought is possible. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- There are names, and Christian symbols, and prayers, or sentences expressive of Christian hopes, carved upon nearly every sarcophagus. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- These were but the outward and visible symbols of his westering tendencies. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In 1837 Dalton wrote: Berzelius's symbols are horrifying: a young student in chemistry might as soon learn Hebrew as make himself a cquainted with them. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- We move amidst generalities and symbols . Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Here are the symbols. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- For words, theories, symbols, slogans, abstractions of all kinds are nothing but the porous vessels into which life flows, is contained for a time, and then passes through. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The symbols are thus made by deviations from the straight line, of different lengths and of varied combinations. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- A group of symbols, such as this, expressing a molecule of a compound is called a _formula_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Mr. Morse's telegraph is a recording instrument, that embosses the symbols upon paper, with a point pressed down upon it by an electro-magnet. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- It was considered a great advantage of this telegraph at the time, that it exhibited actual letters of the alphabet, instead of symbols. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- They arrest growth on a low plane, the plane of specific physical symbols. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- But in an advanced culture much which has to be learned is stored in symbols. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The pupil learns symbols without the key to their meaning. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Written symbols are even more artificial or conventional than spoken; they cannot be picked up in accidental intercourse with others. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
Typed by Clyde