the.com/symbol
A tiny shape carrying the weight of everything words are too clumsy to hold.
means A mark, object, or image that stands for something else — an idea, a value, or a whole concept — by agreement or association.
from From Greek 'symbolon,' a token or sign, built from 'syn-' (together) and 'ballein' (to throw or cast) — literally 'thrown together.' The lovely detail: a symbolon was once a physical thing snapped in two, with each party keeping a half; fit the broken edges back together and the match proved who you were. So a symbol began as one piece of a pair that only means something when reunited with what it points to. It passed through Latin 'symbolum' into English.
- ancient origin
- From Greek symbolon, a token snapped in two halves
- the proof
- Matching broken halves confirmed identity between strangers
- red triumph
- The Soviet hammer-and-sickle outlived the country that flew it
- silent power
- A crossed-out cigarette needs zero words worldwide
- heart hijack
- The ♥ shape never resembled a real heart
peace symbol — designed by gerald holtom in 1958 for the campaign for nuclear disarmament
swastika — ancient hindu, buddhist, and jain symbol of auspiciousness, predating its nazi appropriation by thousands of years
yin and yang — taoist symbol from ancient chinese philosophy representing complementary forces, codified in the i ching
caduceus — two snakes around a winged staff used as symbol of medicine and commerce in western culture since greek mythology