¹sign

\ˈsīn\  

Etymology: Middle English signe, from Anglo-French, from Latin signum mark, token, sign, image, seal.

2 : a mark having a conventional meaning and used in place of words or to represent a complex notion 6 a : something material or external that stands for or signifies something spiritual b : something indicating the presence or existence of something else c : presage, portent SYNONYMS sign, mark, token, note, symptom mean a discernible indication of what is not itself directly perceptible. SIGN applies to any indication to be perceived by the senses or the reason. MARK suggests something impressed on or inherently characteristic of a thing often in contrast to general outward appearance.

¹sym•bol

\ˈsim-bəl\

Etymology: in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw.

1 : an authoritative summary of faith or doctrine : creed 2 : something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; especially: a visible sign of something invisible 3 : an arbitrary or conventional sign used in writing or printing relating to a particular field to represent operations, quantities, elements, relations, or qualities 5 : an act, sound, or object having cultural significance and the capacity to excite or objectify a response.

 
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