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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people. Preface to 1828 Dictionary
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SYM'BOL, n. [L. symbolum; Gr. with, and to throw; to compare.]
A visible sign
or representation of an idea; anything which suggests an idea or
quality, or another thing, as by resemblance or by convention; an
emblem; a representation; a type; a figure; as, the lion is the
symbol of courage; the lamb is the symbol of meekness or
patience.
A symbol is a sign included in the idea which it represents, e. g., an actual part chosen to represent the whole, or a lower form or species used as the representative of a higher in the same kind. Coleridge. Any character used to
represent a quantity, an operation, a relation, or an
abbreviation.
* In crystallography, the symbol of a plane is the numerical expression which defines its position relatively to the assumed axes. An abstract or compendium
of faith or doctrine; a creed, or a summary of the articles of
religion.
That which is
thrown into a common fund; hence, an appointed or accustomed
duty.
[Obs.]
They do their work in the days of peace . . . and come to pay their symbol in a war or in a plague. Jer. Taylor. Share; allotment.
[Obs.]
The persons who are to be judged . . . shall all appear to receive their symbol. Jer. Taylor. An abbreviation standing for
the name of an element and consisting of the initial letter of the
Latin or New Latin name, or sometimes of the initial letter with a
following one; as, C for carbon, Na for sodium (Natrium), Fe for iron
(Ferrum), Sn for tin (Stannum), Sb for antimony (Stibium), etc. See
the list of names and symbols under Element.
* In pure and organic chemistry there are symbols not only for the elements, but also for their grouping in formulas, radicals, or residues, as evidenced by their composition, reactions, synthesis, etc. See the diagram of Benzene nucleus, under Benzene. Syn. -- Emblem; figure; type. See Emblem. To symbolize.
[R.] Tennyson. | ||||||||