Webster's English Dictionary

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symbol

1. sym.bol \'sim-b*l\ n [in sense 1, fr. LL symbolum, fr. LGk symbolon, fr. 
   Gk, token, sign]; in other senses fr. L symbolus, symbolum token, sign, 
   symbol, fr. Gk, lit., token of identity verified by comparing its other 
   half, fr. symballein to throw together, compare, fr. syn- + ballein to 
   throw - more at DEVIL 1: a creedal form  2: something that stands for or 
   suggests something else by reason of relati onship, association, 
   convention, or accidental resemblance; esp : a visible sign of something 
   invisible 3: an arbitrary or conventional sign used in writing or printing 
   relating t o a particular field to represent operations, quantities, 
   elements, relations, or qualities 4: an object or act that represents a 
   repressed complex through unconscious  association 5: an act, sound, or 
   object having cultural significance and the capacity t o excite or 
   objectify a response
2. symbol vb or sym.boled or sym.bolled;  or sym.bol.ing;  or sym.bol.ling 
   : SYMBOLIZE