symbol
Sign in to savethumb|upright|A red octagon symbolizes "stop" even without the word.|alt=Silhouette of a red octagon thumb|upright|Wearing variously colored List of awareness ribbons|ribbons is a symbolic action that shows support for certain campaigns.
AI overview
A symbol is something—like a shape, color, or object—that represents or stands for something else, such as an idea or message. Symbols matter because they allow us to communicate meaning quickly and across language barriers, like how a red octagon means "stop" or colored ribbons show support for a cause.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Concepts and definitions
- Symbols and semiotics
- Psychoanalysis, rhetoric, and archetypes
- Symbolic value
- Paul Tillich
- Role of context in symbolism
- Historical meaning
- Context
- Symbols in cartography
- Related terms
- Computer encoding
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|upright|A red octagon symbolizes "stop" even without the word.|alt=Silhouette of a red octagon thumb|upright|Wearing variously colored List of awareness ribbons|ribbons is a symbolic action that shows support for certain campaigns.
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, relationship, or mathematical formula. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise different concepts and experiences. All communication is achieved through the use of symbols: for example, a red octagon is a common symbol for "STOP"; on maps, blue lines often represent rivers; and a red rose often symbolizes love and compassion. Numerals are symbols for numbers; letters of an alphabet may be symbols for certain phonemes; and personal names are symbols representing individuals. The academic study of symbols is called semiotics.