EMBLEM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Emblem

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/ˈɛmbləm/ Listen

noun

Emblem n.

1.

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

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."

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.

Synonyms: 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." 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.

verb

Emblem v. t. (past & past part. emblemed; pres. part. embleming) To represent by an emblem; to symbolize. (R.) "Emblemed by the cozening fig tree."

See images of 'Emblem'

Etymology of 'Emblem'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Emblem" Quotes from Famous Books

... and ladies' tailors who have learned English "as she is spoke" in London's West End. The officers of the liaison can be readily distinguished by their caps, which resemble those worn by railroad brakemen, and by the gilt sphinx on the collars of their drab uniforms. This emblem was chosen by Napoleon as a badge for the corps of interpreters he organized during his Egyptian campaign, but the British unkindly assert it was selected for the liaison officers because nobody ...

— Italy at War and the Allies in the West • E. Alexander Powell

... proceeded to pin the emblem on his jacket, and contemplated it with delighted pride. It was a simple thing enough; a square of white flannel the size of an ordinary needlebook, neatly scalloped around the edge with white silk. In the centre was embroidered a crimson heart, ...

— Rita • Laura E. Richards

... the justice of their country. My Lords, we have thought it the more necessary to say this, because it has been given out that we might faint in this business. No: we follow, and trust we shall always follow, that great emblem of antiquity, in which the person who held out to the end of a long line of labors found the reward of all the eleven in the twelfth. Our labor, therefore, will be our reward; and we will go on, we will pursue with vigor and diligence, in a manner ...

— The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. X. (of 12) • Edmund Burke

... Thus, an emblem of the stream of history, it is still more like a march along the highway of a single human life. As the sinless thoughts of smiling childhood are the little rivulets, which afterward become the mighty river; like the infant, airy, volatile, and beautiful—sparkling as the dimpled ...

— Western Characters - or Types of Border Life in the Western States • J. L. McConnel

... ordinarily is an emblem of solidity and enduring strength. In this sense it is an emblem of an eternal truth, or principle. When Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ," Jesus said in regard to his confession, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock" or fundamental ...

— The Choctaw Freedmen - and The Story of Oak Hill Industrial Academy • Robert Elliott Flickinger

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