emblem

1 of 2

noun

em·​blem ˈem-bləm How to pronounce emblem (audio)
1
: a picture with a motto or set of verses intended as a moral lesson
2
: an object or the figure of an object symbolizing and suggesting another object or an idea
3
a
: a symbolic object used as a heraldic device
b
: a device, symbol, or figure adopted and used as an identifying mark

emblem

2 of 2

verb

emblemed; embleming; emblems

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Emblem Has Greek Roots

Both emblem and its synonym symbol trace back to the Greek verb bállein, meaning "to throw." Emblem arose from embállein, meaning "to insert," while symbol comes from symbállein, Greek for "to throw together." Bállein is also an ancestor of the words parable (from parabállein, "to compare"), metabolism (from metabállein, "to change"), and problem (from probállein, "to throw forward"). Another, somewhat surprising, bállein descendant is devil, which comes from Greek diabolos, literally meaning "slanderer." Diabolos in turn comes from diabállein, meaning "to throw across" or "to slander."

Examples of emblem in a Sentence

Noun The flag is the emblem of our nation. He has come to be regarded as an emblem of conservatism.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Some denim pockets were unmistakable like the radical chaos of the Antik emblem and Baby Phat’s curvy cat logo, which recently made a comeback on the rear of Ice Spice’s skirt at this year’s Grammy Awards. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024 Pack clothing from Western brands, and don’t carry any emblems of the Chinese Communist Party. Cate Cadell, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The Scuderia Ferrari shield emblem adorns the frame in another nod to the marque’s racing roots. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2024 On the front are the emblems of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and HMH-361 heavy helicopter squadron and the seal of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024 And Kahan — a gifted songwriter whose introspective folk songs contain a pop sensibility, so that his top 40-ready anthems still contain a sense of time and place — has served as the perfect emblem of that place. Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 21 Feb. 2024 But over the following decades, Michigan devolved into an emblem of the forces assailing American middle-class security. Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024 Another rooster stood atop the spire previously; the bird is considered an emblem of France. Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024 The puppet had become a human rights emblem during a 4,970-mile journey from the Turkish-Syrian border to Manchester in July 2021. NBC News, 14 Jan. 2024
Verb
Jurors have already heard that items including two Mercedes emblems an investigator said were smashed off the front of Grossman’s Mercedes are missing and not in evidence. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Fashionable, form-flattering, and produced with discerning attention to detail, these trousers emblem the brand's craftsmanship and understanding of contemporary men's needs. Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 25 July 2023 It was embroidered with national, religious and Commonwealth emblems in both gold and colored threads. Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 2 May 2023 The gorgeous piece, made up of diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, features the Prince of Wales feathers emblem. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 13 Mar. 2023 In 2015, the court held that Texas need not place a Sons of Confederate Veterans emblem on its license plates, despite offering a commemorative program allowing private groups to sponsor tags. Jess Bravin, WSJ, 18 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'emblem.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & New Latin; Middle French embleme "symbolic image typically accompanied by a motto and a verse exposition (books of which constituted a literary genre in the Renaissance)," borrowed from New Latin emblēmat-, emblēma, going back to Latin, "inlaid pavement, inlaid relief on the inside of a metal bowl or other vessel," borrowed from Greek emblēmat-, émblēma "something inserted (as a shaft into a spearhead), relief ornament decorating silver plate," from emblē-, stem in noun derivation of embállein "to drop or place in, throw into, insert," from em-, variant of en- en- entry 2 before a labial + bállein "to reach by throwing, cast, strike, put, place" — more at devil entry 1

Note: The use of Latin emblēma in reference to a combination of symbolic image and text is apparently owed to the Italian jurist and scholar Andrea Anciato (1492-1550), who gave rise to the emblem book genre with his Emblematum liber (Augsburg, 1531). The semantic gap between the literal meaning of the word and Alciati's use of it has yet to be fully explained. Pace the comments by John F. Moffitt (Andrea Alciati, A Book of Emblems: The Emblematum Liber in Latin and English [Jefferson, NC: 2004], introduction, p. 7), neither Cicero, Quintilian, nor Coelius Rodiginus provide any definite basis for the meaning given emblēma by Alciati.

Verb

derivative of emblem entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1584, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of emblem was in 1584

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Cite this Entry

“Emblem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emblem. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

emblem

noun
em·​blem
ˈem-bləm
1
: an object or likeness used to suggest a thing that cannot be pictured
the flag is the emblem of our nation
2
: a device, symbol, design, or figure used as an identifying mark
the club's emblem

More from Merriam-Webster on emblem

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