Symbol: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:14, 11 April 2004

Revision as of 14:28, 11 April 2004

Line 4:

A symbol can be a material object whose shape or origin is related, by nature or convention, to the thing it represents: for instance, the [[crucifix]] is the main symbol of [[Christianity]], and the [[scepter]] is a traditional symbol of [[king|royal]] power.

ItA symbol can also be a more or less conventional [[image]] (i.e. an [[icon]]), or a detail of an image, or even a [[pattern]] or [[color]]: for example, the olive branch in [[heraldry]] represents peace, the [[halo]] is a conventional symbol of sainthood[[saint]]hood in Christian imagery, [[tartan]]s are symbols of [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[clan]]s, and the color [[red]] is often used as a symbol for [[socialism|socialist]] movements, especially [[communism]].

More often, a symbol is a conventional written or printed [[sign]] (specifically, a [[glyph]]), usually standing for anything other than a sound (symbols for sounds are usually called [[grapheme]]s, [[letters]], [[logogram]]s, [[diacritic]]s, etc.). Thus [[mathematics|Mathematical]] symbols such as π and + represent quantities and operations, [[currency|currency symbols]] represent [[money|monetary]] units, [[chemistry|chemical symbols]] represent elements, and so forth.

Symbols can also be immaterial entities like sounds, words and gestures:. inThe factringing of [[gong]]s and [[bell]]s, and the wordsbanging of a judge's [[languagehammer]], areoften symbolshave forconventional conceptsmeanings in certain contexts; and relationships[[bowing (social)|bowing]] is a common way to indicate respect. In fact, every word in a natural [[language]] is a symbol for some concept or relationship between concepts.

==Use of symbols==