The musical instrument is spelled cymbal.

A symbol is something such as an object, picture, written word, a sound, or particular mark — that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something intangible. Symbols indicate or serve as a sign for and represent ideas, concepts, or other abstractions. For example, in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain, a red octagon is the symbol that conveys the particular idea of "STOP".

Common examples of symbols are the symbols used on maps to denote places of interest, such as crossed sabres to indicate a battlefield, and the numerals used to represent numbers.

The psychologist, CG Jung, who studied the archetypes proposed an alternative definition of symbol, distinguishing it from the term "sign". In Jung's view, a sign stands for something known, eg a word standing for its referent. By contrast, a symbol stands for something that is unknown and that cannot be made clear or precise. An example of a symbol in this sense is Christ as a symbol of the archetype called self. ^[1]

Language and symbols

All languages are made up of symbols. In his work, On Interpretation, Aristotle teaches that:

Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience, and written words are the symbols of spoken words.

The word "cat", for example, whether spoken or written, is not a literal cat but a sequence of symbols that have conventional associates the word with a concept. Hence, the written or spoken word "cat" represents (or stands for) a particular concept formed in the mind.

Another example of the symbol "cat" would be an object, such as a stuffed animal, that is referred to as a cat. The stuffed animal resembles to a real cat. One can view the object and see the semblance to the real creature that is known to have fur, is soft to the touch, and purrs.

The study or interpretation of symbols is known as symbology, and the study of signs is known as semiotics.

Etymology

The word "symbol" came to the English language by way of Middle English, from Old French, from Latin, from the Greek σύμβολον (sýmbolon) from the root words συν- (syn-) meaning "together" and βολή (bolē) "a throw", having the approximate meaning of "to throw together", literally a "co-incidence" (zu-fall), also "sign, ticket, or contract". The earliest attestation of the term is in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes where Hermes on seeing the tortoise exclaims συμβολον ηδη μοι "symbolon [symbol/sign/portent/encounter/chance find?] of joy to me!" before turning it into a lyre.

References

Notes

Other references

• Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged, W.A. Neilson, T.A. Knott, P.W. Carhart (eds.), G. & C. Merriam Company, Springfield, MA, 1950.
• The American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd Edition

External links

• symbols.com
• Religious and Cultural Symbols
• Symbolism Wiki