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."
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
According to British Vogue, the designer is said to have created the dress as a nod to France, with national flowers and bees, the emblem of Napoleon, embroidered on the skirt. Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 This token emblem, which indicates that postal fees have been paid, holds a historical place of prominence, accompanying messages both intimate and public. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2022 The tribal mask that often appears in his paintings was inspired by the official emblem of the Second World Festival of Black Arts and Culture -- a replica of the royal ivory mask of Benin. Natalie Kainz, CNN, 10 Aug. 2022 Atlanta police discovered the symbol as well as a curse word and an anti-gay slur spray-painted at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue, where the rainbow display has become an emblem of pride for the city’s LGBTQ community. Caroline Silva, ajc, 19 Aug. 2022 Officially recognized since 1995, the red, black and yellow flag has become an emblem for Aboriginal Australians and is often seen flying from government buildings.CNN, 11 July 2022 NBC News was not able to independently confirm the claim, which involved an attack that has become an emblem of Russia's indiscriminate bombardment of civilian targets.NBC News, 26 Mar. 2022 Myrtle has become the emblem of matrimony within bridal bouquets and a sprig was included in the bouquets of Princess Eugenie, Duchess Kate, and even Queen Elizabeth. Annie Goldsmith, Town & Country, 18 July 2020 By the end of the nineteenth century, the dinosaur had dethroned the woolly mammoth as an American emblem—and become the favorite megafauna of Gilded Age oligarchs. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2022
Verb
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 See More
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.