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em·blem

(ĕmbləm)

1. A distinctive badge, design, or device: trucks marked with the company emblem; the emblem of the air force.

2. An object or representation that functions as a symbol: "a bed of sweet-scented lilies, the emblem of France" (Amy Steedman).

3. An allegorical picture usually inscribed with a verse or motto presenting a moral lesson.

[Middle English, pictorial fable, from Latin emblēma, raised ornament, from Greek, embossed design, from emballein, to insert, set in : en-, in; see EN-² + ballein, to throw; see g^welə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

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emblem

emblem of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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