n.
- a mark or character used as a conventional representation of something, e.g. a letter standing for a chemical element or a character in musical notation.
- a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.
v.
(symbols, symbolling, symbolled; US symbols, symboling, symboled)
archaic symbolize.
Etymology
ME (denoting the Apostles' Creed): from L. symbolum ‘symbol, creed (as the mark of a Christian)’, from Gk sumbolon ‘mark, token’, from sun- ‘with’ + ballein ‘to throw’.