Em"blem (?), n. [F.
emblème, L. emblema, -atis, that which is
put in or on, inlaid work, fr. Gr. &?; a thing put in or on, fr. &?;
to throw, lay, put in; &?; in + &?; to throw. See In, and
Parable.] 1. Inlay; inlaid or mosaic
work; something ornamental inserted in a surface. [Obs.]
Milton.
2. A visible sign of an idea; an object, or
the figure of an object, symbolizing and suggesting another object,
or an idea, by natural aptness or by association; a figurative
representation; a typical designation; a symbol; as, a balance is an
emblem of justice; a scepter, the emblem of sovereignty
or power; a circle, the emblem of eternity. "His
cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek."
Shak.
3. A picture accompanied with a motto, a set
of verse, or the like, intended as a moral lesson or
meditation.
&fist; Writers and artists of the 17th century gave much attention
and study to the composition of such emblems, and many
collections of them were published.
Syn. -- Sign; symbol; type; device; signal; token. --
Sign, Emblem, Symbol, Type. Sign
is the generic word comprehending all significant representations. An
emblem is a visible object representing another by a natural
suggestion of characteristic qualities, or an habitual and recognized
association; as, a circle, having no apparent beginning or end, is an
emblem of eternity; a particular flag is the emblem of
the country or ship which has adopted it for a sign and with which it
is habitually associated. Between emblem and symbol the
distinction is slight, and often one may be substituted for the other
without impropriety. See Symbol. Thus, a circle is either an
emblem or a symbol of eternity; a scepter, either an
emblem or a symbol of authority; a lamb, either an
emblem or a symbol of meekness. "An emblem is
always of something simple; a symbol may be of something
complex, as of a transaction . . . In consequence we do not speak of
actions emblematic." C. J. Smith. A type is a
representative example, or model, exhibiting the qualities common to
all individuals of the class to which it belongs; as, the Monitor is
a type of a class of war vessels.
Em"blem (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Emblemed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Embleming.] To represent by an emblem; to
symbolize. [R.]
Emblemed by the cozening fig tree.
Feltham.
