insignia
nounUK, US /ɪnˈsɪɡ.ni.ə/
Etymology From Latin īnsīgnia, nominative plural of īnsīgne (“emblem, token, symbol”). Doublet of ensign.
1
A patch or other object that indicates a person's official or military rank, or membership in a group or organization.
- The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.2019 March 18, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution, The Center for International Security and Cooperation:
2
A symbol or token of personal power, status, or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction.
- The former Protector tendered him the oaths, and presented him with the insignia of office, performing the ceremonies of installation.1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter VI, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:
- The most sacred part of the ceremony followed when the new king was anointed with holy oil to confirm his semi-divine status. He was then invested with the royal insignia: the ring, sword, crown, sceptre and rod. Finally, the newly crowned monarch received the homage of his leading subjects.2021, Tracy Borman, Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II, Grove Atlantic, →ISBN, page 4:
3
Figuratively A mark or token by which anything is known.
- But if autumn wear the insignia of nature's royalty, its purple and gold, in only the shaded lane or the green field with its one or two old trees, what is its more than eastern pomp in a wooded empire like the New Forest!1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 80:
- Rule 23: “The stress of love makes it hard to eat and sleep.” To these empirical laws we can add the various other insignia of love.2006, P. Goodrich, The Laws of Love: A Brief Historical and Practical Manual, page 49:
- Synonyms
- insigne