Emblem 一词源自希腊语emblema（嵌饰），16世纪80年代经拉丁语emblema（镶嵌装饰品）进入英语后，主要用来表示代表国家、组织或家族的“徽章、图案、标记”，即选定用来象征一个国家、组织或家族的符号、图案或实物装置，

比如：

America's national emblem, the bald eagle美国的国徽——白头海雕

The heart is an emblem of love.从这个概念出发， emblem 很自然地就被用来引申指“象征、标志”，也就是象征某种特定品质或概念的东西，比如：心形是爱的象征。

The white flag is the emblem of surrender.白旗是投降的象征。

The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy.名人名言

symbol: a shape or sign used to represent something such as an organization token: a thing serving as a visible or tangible representation of a fact, quality, feeling, etc. crest: a distinctive device representing a family or corporate body, borne above the shield of a coat of arms (originally as worn on a helmet) or separately reproduced, for example on writing paper向日葵是人们最喜爱的坚贞象征。出自美国著名神话和传说故事作家托马斯·布尔凡奇（Thomas Bulfinch）。同近义词