Emblem

n. [Fr. emblème, from Lat. emblema, Gr. ἔμβλημα, that which is put in or on, inlaid work, from ἐμβάλλειν, to throw, lay, put in, from ἐμ, for ἐν, in, and βάλλειν, to throw.] 1. Inlay; inlaid or mosaic work; something ornamental inserted in a surface. [Obs.] Milton. 2. An object, or the figure of an object, symbolizing and suggesting some other object, quality, or the like; a thing regarded as resembling some other thing in its characteristic qualities, and so employed to represent it; an allusive picture; a typical designation; a symbol or type; as, a balance is an emblem of justice; a crown, the emblem of royalty; a scepter, the emblem of power. His cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek. Shak. Syn.—Figure; type; sign; symbol; adumbration.