symbol
English
Etymology
From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, outward sign”), from συμβάλλω (sumbállō, “I throw together, dash together, compare, correspond, tally, come to a conclusion”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw, put”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɪmbəl/
Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪmbəl
- Hyphenation: sym‧bol
- Homophone: cymbal
Noun
symbol (plural symbols)
- A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
- $ is the symbol for dollars in the US and some other countries.
- Chinese people use word symbols for writing.
- The lion is the symbol of courage; the lamb is the symbol of meekness or patience.
- Any object, typically material, which is meant to represent another (usually abstract) even if there is no meaningful relationship.
- The dollar symbol has no relationship to the concept of currency or any related idea.
- (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.
- The Apostles, Nicene Creed and the confessional books of Protestantism, such as the Augsburg Confession of Lutheranism are considered symbols.
- Visible traces or impressions, made using a writing device or tool, that are connected together and/or are slightly separated. Sometimes symbols represent objects or events that occupy space or things that are not physical and do not occupy space.
- (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.
- Jeremy Taylor
- They do their work in the days of peace […] and come to pay their symbol in a war or in a plague.
- Jeremy Taylor
- (obsolete) Share; allotment.
- Jeremy Taylor
- The persons who are to be judged […] shall all appear to receive their symbol.
- Jeremy Taylor
- (programming) An internal identifier used by a debugger to relate parts of the compiled program to the corresponding names in the source code.
Derived terms
- status symbol
- typographical symbol
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Verb
symbol (third-person singular simple present symbols, present participle symboling or symbolling, simple past and past participle symboled or symbolled)
- To symbolize.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Tennyson to this entry?)
Translations
See also
Further reading
- symbol in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- symbol in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Czech
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | symbol | symboly |
genitive | symbolu | symbolů |
dative | symbolu | symbolům |
accusative | symbol | symboly |
vocative | symbole | symboly |
locative | symbolu | symbolech |
instrumental | symbolem | symboly |
Related terms
- symbolický
- symbolismus
Danish
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, outward sign”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /symboːl/, [symˈb̥oːˀl]
Inflection
neuter gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | symbol | symbolet | symboler | symbolerne |
genitive | symbols | symbolets | symbolers | symbolernes |
Derived terms
Related terms
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon)
Noun
symbol n (definite singular symbolet, indefinite plural symbol or symboler, definite plural symbola or symbolene)
- a symbol
Derived terms
Related terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon)
Noun
symbol n (definite singular symbolet, indefinite plural symbol, definite plural symbola)
- a symbol
Derived terms
Related terms
Swedish
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Declension
Declension of symbol | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | symbol | symbolen | symboler | symbolerna |
Genitive | symbols | symbolens | symbolers | symbolernas |
Derived terms
- färgsymbol
- nationalsymbol
- natursymbol
- partisymbol
- planetsymbol
- rättssymbol
- samlingssymbol
- symboldikt
- symbolfigur
- symbolfråga
- symbolfunktion
- symbolgestalt
- symbolhandling
- symbolik
- symboliker
- symbolisera
- symbolisering
- symbolisk
- symbolism
- symbolist
- symbolistisk
- symbolladdad
- symbolmättad
- symbolspråk
- symbolvärde
- symbolvärld
- symbolåtgärd
- varningssymbol
References
- symbol in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
- symbol in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.