1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Emblem

EMBLEM (Gr. ἔμβλημα, something put in or inserted, from ἐμβάλλειν, to throw in), a word originally applied in Greek and Latin (emblema) to a raised or inlaid ornament on vases and other vessels, &c., and also to mosaic or tessellated work. It is in English confined to a symbolical representation of some object, particularly when used as a badge or heraldic device.