symbolic

Etymology

From French symbolique or directly from Latin symbolicus, from Ancient Greek συμβολικός (sumbolikós, “of or belonging to a symbol”)

Pronunciation

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• Rhymes: -ɒlɪk

Adjective

symbolic (comparative more symbolic, superlative most symbolic)

1. Pertaining to a symbol.
   • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:

     Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.

2. Referring to something with an implicit meaning.