symbol

English

/ˈsɪmbəl/

noun
Definitions
  • A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
  • A thing considered the embodiment of a concept or object.
  • (linguistics) A type of noun whereby the form refers to the same entity independently of the context; a symbol arbitrarily denotes a referent. See also icon and index.
  • A summary of a dogmatic statement of faith.
  • (crystallography) The numerical expression which defines a plane's position relative to the assumed axes.
  • (obsolete) That which is thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty.
  • (obsolete) Share; allotment.
  • (programming) An internal identifier used by a debugger to relate parts of the compiled program to the corresponding names in the source code.
  • (telecommunications) A signalling event on a communications channel; a signal that cannot be further divided into meaningful information.

Etymology

Derived from French symbole derived from Latin symbolus derived from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (tally, check, badge, watchword, outward sign, ticket, a sign by which one infers something, a mark, token, a signal).

Origin

Ancient Greek

σύμβολον

Gloss

tally, check, badge, watchword, outward sign, ticket, a sign by which one infers something, a mark, token, a signal

Concept
Semantic Field

Cognition

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms