Etymologically
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symbolic

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɪmˈbɒlɪk/ (UK); /sɪmˈbɑːlɪk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French symbolique or Late Latin symbolicus, or formed from symbol and -ic,[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek συμβολικός (sumbolikós),[2][4][3] from σύμβολον (súmbolon, “token, sign”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Involving the use of written symbols: 1656 in the OED, the 1650s in Etymonline;[5][2] Merriam-Webster dates a sense to 1610.[4] Symbolical is from about 1600.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Having the character of a symbol, serving as a sign, is from 1680.[5] In mathematics, using a system of symbols, it is from 1846,[5] and symbolic logic is attested from 1856.[2][5] In art and literature, having the characteristics of symbolism, it is by 1910.[2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1600 – symbolical.[2]
  • 1656 – using written symbols.[5]
  • 1680 – serving as a symbol.[5]
  • 1856 – symbolic logic.[2][5]
  • 1910 – in art and literature.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Serving as a symbol; representing something else.
  2. Relating to or expressed by symbols.
  3. Using symbolism, as in art or literature.
  4. Important for what it represents rather than its actual effect: a largely symbolic gesture.

Word family

  • symbolically
  • symbolicalness
  • nonsymbolic
  • unsymbolic
  • symbolical
  • symbolics
  • symbolic interactionism
  • symbol
  • symbolist
  • symbology
  • symbolistic
  • symbolization
  • symbolize
  • symbolise
  • symbolism
  • emblem

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press