Definition 1 of 2
Plain English Meaning
Symbols are the words and signs we use to stand for ideas. They only work if both people involved attach the same meaning to them.
Full Definition
In communication, symbols are the words, signs, gestures, or other representations used by a sender to package an idea so it can be transmitted to a receiver. The symbols themselves carry no meaning — meaning is supplied by the people using them, based on shared experience and understanding.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation communication and instruction, especially when explaining how meaning is sent from an instructor to a learner through words, diagrams, signs, and cockpit indications.
Derivation
From the Greek symbolon, meaning a 'token' or 'sign' — originally a piece of an object broken in two, with each party keeping half so they could later be matched to confirm an agreement. The instructional sense keeps that idea: a symbol is a token that stands in for something else, and it only works if both parties recognise it the same way.