Where does “symbolic” come from?
Symbolic derives from French symbolique, from Latin -icus, from Proto-Indo-European -kos, ultimately from Ancient Greek βάλλω meaning to throw.
symbolic (English): Pertaining to a symbol; Implicitly representing...
Definitions
- Pertaining to a symbol; Implicitly representing...
Ancestry of “symbolic”, step by step
symbolic traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French symbolique
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | symbolique | symbolic |
| 2 | French | symbole | symbol |
| 3 | Latin | symbolum | symbol, token; creed |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | σύμβολον | a sign or token by which one infers a thing; a... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | σῠμβάλλω | I throw together, dash together, compare,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βάλλω | I throw, cast, hurl; I let fall; I strike, touch |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | *gʷəlnō | — |
via Latin symbolicus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | symbolicus | having the nature or character of a symbol or sign |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | συμβολικός | of or belonging to a symbol |