symbology

[ sim-bol-uh-jee ]

noun

1. the study of symbols.
2. the use of symbols; symbolism.

symbology

/ sɪmˈbɒlədʒɪ; ˌsɪmbəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. the use, study, or interpretation of symbols

Derived Forms

• symbological, adjective
• symˈbologist, noun

Other Words From

• sym·bo·log·i·cal [sim-b, uh, -, loj, -i-k, uh, l], adjective
• sym·bolo·gist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of symbology¹

First recorded in 1830–40; by haplology, symbolo- (combining form of symbol ) + -logy

Example Sentences

Catholic symbology plays an outsized role in horror — thanks, in no small part, to the influence of “The Exorcist.”

From New York Times

As a grand statement on America — the kind the album’s cover sets you up for with its striking stars-and-bars symbology — “Cowboy Carter” feels a bit mushy.

From Los Angeles Times

The show charts his progression into increasingly florid work — near-cryptic symbology woven into baroque, calligraphic abstraction, which he made nearly until his death in 2019.

From New York Times

Since that post, he has received almost 2,000 images containing homemade figurines, many holding posters of protest with curious symbology.

From Seattle Times

The zombie is ambrosia for the mind of the horror-media buff: it possesses the visual and visceral spectacle of necrosis, the ever-present symbology of death, the excitement of the interminably strange.

From Salon

Related Words

• indication
• notion
• suspicion
• thought