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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."
Synonyms
Examples of emblem in a Sentence
Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
But last year, its staff sat down and concluded a forthcoming treatment was worth up to $3.9 million — more than any medicine in history, more than a 45-year supply of Humira, the autoimmune drug often held up as an emblem of America’s runaway drug spending.
—Jason Mast, STAT, 28 Mar. 2024
Starting in the mid-20th century, the young sitter became an emblem of American girlhood—both a classic coming-of-age character and a locus of anxieties about girls’ growing autonomy.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024
Madeline Heim Many people might go their entire lives without seeing a bald eagle, our majestic American emblem, in the wild.
—Journal Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2024
The face is also adorned with the skull emblem from the video announcing the band’s return and an hourglass that symbolizes the passage of time.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024
The video carried the emblem of the Russian Army’s 1st Slavic Brigade, which had entered the Zenit area in the south of Avdiivka two days earlier, according to multiple accounts.
—Tim Lister, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024
Initially a vague motif in ancient Chinese art, the dragon is now an emblem of benevolent divinity, imperial power and sweeping unity.
—Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024
Katie Holmes—a woman who first thawed the cold heart of America as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in Dawson’s Creek—has, for the best part of three decades, been an emblem of the archetypal girl next door: natural, modest, and effortless.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 26 Mar. 2024
Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 2 Apr. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near emblem
Cite this Entry
“Emblem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emblem. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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