Main Difference
The main difference between Symbol and Emblem is that the Symbol is a something that represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity and Emblem is a pictorial image that epitomizes a concept or that represents a person.
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Symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts and experiences. All communication (and data processing) is achieved through the use of symbols. Symbols take the form of words, sounds, gestures, ideas or visual images and are used to convey other ideas and beliefs. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for “STOP”. On a map, a blue line might represent a river. Numerals are symbols for numbers. Alphabetic letters may be symbols for sounds. Personal names are symbols representing individuals. A red rose may symbolize love and compassion. The variable ‘x’, in a mathematical equation, may symbolize the position of a particle in space.
In cartography, an organized collection of symbols forms a legend for a map.
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Emblem
An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint.
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Symbol (noun)
A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object.
“$ is the symbol for dollars in the US and some other countries.”
“Chinese people use word symbols for writing.”
“The lion is the symbol of courage; the lamb is the symbol of meekness or patience.”
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Symbol (noun)
Any object, typically material, which is meant to represent another (usually abstract) even if there is no meaningful relationship.
“The dollar symbol has no relationship to the concept of currency or any related idea.”
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Symbol (noun)
A type of noun whereby the form refers to the same entity independently of the context; a symbol arbitrarily denotes a referent. See also icon and index.
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Symbol (noun)
A summary of a dogmatic statement of faith.
“The Apostles, Nicene Creed and the confessional books of Protestantism, such as the Augsburg Confession of Lutheranism are considered symbols.”
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Symbol (noun)
Visible traces or impressions, made using a writing device or tool, that are connected together and/or are slightly separated. Sometimes symbols represent objects or events that occupy space or things that are not physical and do not occupy space.
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Symbol (noun)
The axes.
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Symbol (noun)
That which is thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed duty.
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Symbol (noun)
Share; allotment.
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Symbol (noun)
An internal identifier used by a debugger to relate parts of the compiled program to the corresponding names in the source code.
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Symbol (verb)
To symbolize.
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Emblem (noun)
A representative symbol, such as a trademark or logo.
“The trucks were emblazoned with the emblem of the Red Cross and were not supposed to be targeted.”
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Emblem (noun)
Something which represents a larger whole.
“The rampant poverty in the ethnic slums was just an emblem of the group’s disenfranchisement by the society as a whole.”
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Emblem (noun)
Inlay; inlaid or mosaic work; something ornamental inserted in a surface.
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Emblem (noun)
A picture accompanied with a motto, a set of verses, etc. intended as a moral lesson or meditation.
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Emblem (verb)
To symbolize.
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Symbol (noun)
a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process, e.g. the letter or letters standing for a chemical element or a character in musical notation
“the chemical symbol for helium is He”
“the symbol r in Figure 5 represents a gene which is ineffective”
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Symbol (noun)
a shape or sign used to represent something such as an organization, e.g. a red cross or a Star of David
“the Red Cross symbol”
“the Star of David, the Jewish symbol”
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Symbol (noun)
a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract
“the limousine was another symbol of his wealth and authority”
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Symbol (verb)
symbolize.