SYMBOL, n. Something that is supposed to typify or stand for something… — The Devil's Dictionary
SAPIR 861
SYMBOL, n. Something that is supposed to typify or stand for something else. Many symbols are mere "survivals"--things which having no longer any utility continue to exist because we have inherited the tendency to make them; as funereal urns carved on memorial monuments. They were once real urns holding the ashes of the dead. We cannot stop making them, but we can give them a name that conceals our helplessness.
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (WLC), CC BY 4.0