"The fiery cross which in old times formed the rallying symbol in the Highlands of Scotland in any sudden emergency," Gaelic cranntara, cranntaraidh, also (by influence of crois "cross") croistara, croistaraidh, literally "the beam or cross of reproach," from crann "a beam, a shaft" (see crane (n.)) + tair "reproach, disgrace." "[S]o called because neglect of the symbol implied infamy" [Century Dictionary].
Middle English bitoknen "be a symbol or emblem of," from late Old English betacnian "to denote, to mean, signify; be a visible sign or emblem of," from be- + Old English tacnian "to signify," from tacn "sign" (see token) or directly from Proto-Germanic *taiknōjanan.
It is attested from c. 1200 as "to augur, presage, portend," also "be or give evidence of." Related: Betokened; betokening.
Early Middle English also had itaknen "represent symbolically," from Old English getacnian. Also infrequent token (v.), "be a symbol of," from Middle English toknen "represent (something) by a symbol, set a mark on, designate," from Old English tacnian. A tokener (mid-15c.) was one who puts a mark of approval on goods.
1797, contraction of and per se and, meaning "(the character) '&' by itself is 'and' " (a hybrid phrase, partly in Latin, partly in English). An earlier form of it was colloquial ampassy (1706). The distinction is to avoid confusion with & in such formations as &c., a once-common way of writing etc. (the et in et cetera is Latin for "and"). The letters a, I, and o also formerly (15c.-16c.) sometimes were written a per se, etc., especially when standing alone as words.
The symbol is based on the Latin word et "and," and comes from an old Roman system of shorthand signs (ligatures) attested in Pompeiian graffiti, and not (as sometimes stated) from the Tironian Notes, a different system of shorthand, probably invented by Cicero's companion Marcus Tullius Tiro. It used a different symbol, something like a reversed capital gamma, to indicate et. This Tironian symbol was maintained by some medieval scribes, including Anglo-Saxon chroniclers, in whose works a symbol resembling a numeral 7 indicates the word and.
In old schoolbooks the ampersand was printed at the end of the alphabet and thus by 1880s the word ampersand had acquired a slang sense of "posterior, rear end, hindquarters."
in ancient Greece or Rome, "herald's staff," 1590s, from Latin caduceus, alteration of Doric Greek karykeion "herald's staff," from kēryx (genitive kērykos) "a herald," which is probably a Pre-Greek word. A token of a peaceful embassy, it was originally an olive branch. Later especially it was the wand carried by Mercury, messenger of the gods, usually represented with two serpents twined round it and wings. Related: Caducean.
The caduceus is a symbol of peace and prosperity, and in modern times figures as a symbol of commerce, Mercury being the god of commerce. The rod represents power; the serpents represent wisdom; and the two wings, diligence and activity. [Century Dictionary]
The word and the thing are sometimes used mistakenly as a symbol of medicine by confusion with the Rod of Asclepius, Greek god of medicine, which also features a serpent entwined about a rod but only a single serpent.
"seven-branched candelabrum used in Jewish rituals and as a symbol of Judaism," 1886, from Hebrew menorah "candlestick," from Semitic stem n-w-r "to give light, shine" (compare Arabic nar "fire," manarah "candlestick, lighthouse, tower of a mosque," see minaret).
early 15c., "a token, sign, symbol; badge of office, mark or insignia of authority or rank;" also "battle flag, flag or banner of a ship or troop of soldiers," via Scottish, from Old French enseigne (12c.) "mark, symbol, signal; flag, standard, pennant," from Latin insignia (plural); see insignia, which is a doublet of this word. As the word for the soldier who carries the flag, 1510s. U.S. Navy sense of "commissioned officer of the lowest rank" is from 1862. French navy had rank of enseigne de vaisseau at least since early 18c. Until 1871 one of the lowest grades of commissioned officers in a British army infantry regiment, also a rank in the American Revolutionary army.
symbol of artistic or intellectual aloofness, by 1889, from French tour d'ivoire, used in 1837 by critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) with reference to the poet Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863), whom he accused of excessive aloofness.
Et Vigny, plus secret, comme en sa tour d'ivoire, avant midi rentrait. [Sainte-Beuve, "Pensées d'Août, à M. Villemain," 1837]
Used earlier as a type of a wonder or a symbol of "the ideal." The literal image is perhaps from Song of Solomon [vii:4]:
Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. [KJV]
Old English hiertan "give heart to," from heart (n.). Shakespeare used it as "take to heart" (c. 1600); 1866 of cabbages, "to form a heart." Meaning "to love" is by 1993, from the popular New York state tourism campaign that used the heart symbol in place of the word "love."
