Symbol Meaning
/ˈsɪmbəl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
nounA thing considered the embodiment or cardinal exemplar of a concept, theme, or other thing.
Sentence Examples
The lion is often used as a symbol of courage.
The whiteness of the lily is a symbol of purity.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The peace sign is a well-known ____ for peace.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dove is a universally recognized ____ of peace and hope in many different cultures around the entire world today.
Word Origin & History
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, “to throw together, dash together, compare, correspond, tally, come to a conclusion”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, put”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They do their work in the days of peace […] and come to pay their symbol in a war or in a plague."
— 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
"The persons who are to be judged […] shall all appear to receive their symbol."
— 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
"[…] They told me that the Holy Rood had lean'd / And bow'd above me; […] / [I]f it bow'd, whether it symbol'd ruin / Or glory, who shall tell?"
— 1877, Alfred Tennyson, Harold: A Drama, London: Henry S. King & Co., →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 128:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The peace sign is a well-known ____ for peace.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dove is a universally recognized ____ of peace and hope in many different cultures around the entire world today.