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

Did you know?

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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
In many ways, the model is an emblem of the district’s dual identity, with its deep agricultural and industrial roots. Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024 One flier showed Democrat Derek Tran, who is running for Congress, smiling in front of the hammer-and-sickle emblem of the Chinese Communist Party. Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024 Ball Chair The Finnish designer Eero Aarnio's Ball Chair, designed in 1963, expressed the new Pop aesthetic in design and was an emblem of the Space Age. Natalie Stoclet, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Stuck to the nose of the gray machine is a yellow emblem of an owl, wings spread and grasping a sword – the unmistakable logo of Ukraine’s defense intelligence, the GUR. Sebastian Shukla, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for emblem 

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") + -mat-, -ma, resultative noun suffix — 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 Alciato (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 Alciato.

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

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near emblem

Cite this Entry

“Emblem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emblem. Accessed 12 Nov. 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!