Emblem

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛmblÉ™m/

Origin

From Old French embleme, from Latin emblema ("raised ornaments on vessels, tessellated work, mosaic"), from Ancient Greek ἔμβλημα (emblema, "an insertion"), from ἔμβάλλειν (emballein, "to put in, to lay on").

Full definition of emblem

Noun

1. A representative symbol, such as a trademark or logo.The trucks were emblazoned with the emblem of the Red Cross and were not supposed to be targeted.
• ShakespeareHis cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek.
2. Something which represents a larger whole.The rampant poverty in the ethnic slums was just an emblem of the group's disenfranchisement by the society as a whole.
3. Inlay; inlaid or mosaic work; something ornamental inserted in a surface.
4. A picture accompanied with a motto, a set of verses, etc. intended as a moral lesson or meditation.

Related terms

• emblematic
• emblematical

Synonyms

• symbol
• token (to betoken)