token

[toh-kuhn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR token ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something serving to represent or indicate some fact, event, feeling, etc.; sign: Black is a token of mourning.

a characteristic indication or mark of something; evidence or proof: Malnutrition is a token of poverty.

a memento; souvenir; keepsake: The seashell was a token of their trip.

something used to indicate authenticity, authority, etc.; emblem; badge: Judicial robes are a token of office.

Also called token coin. a stamped piece of metal, issued as a limited medium of exchange, as for bus fares, at a nominal value much greater than its commodity value.

anything of only nominal value similarly used, as paper currency.

an item, idea, person, etc., representing a group; a part as representing the whole; sample; indication.

Logic, Linguistics. a particular instance of a word, symbol, expression, sentence, or the like: A printed page might have twenty tokens of the single type-word “and.”Compare type(def 8).

verb (used with object)

to be a token of; signify; symbolize.

adjective

serving as a token: a token gift; a token male on an all-female staff.

slight; perfunctory; minimal: token resistance.

Idioms

by the same token,

in proof of which.
moreover; furthermore: She has a talent as a painter, and by the same token has a sharp eye for detail.

in token of, as a sign of; in evidence of: a ring in token of his love.

Origin of token

before 900; Middle English; Old English tāc(e)n; cognate with German Zeichen, Old Norse teikn sign, mark. See teach

Related formspre·to·ken, noun, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for token

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR token ON THESAURUS.COM

10. symbolic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for token

expression, symbol, souvenir, manifestation, badge, memento, proof, pledge, pawn, sign, sample, warning, demonstration, index, memorial, mark, note, favor, reminder, warrant

Examples from the Web for token

Contemporary Examples of token

But, but … there was a token black girl in the background, Target cried in its defense!
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem
Danielle Belton
January 2, 2015
But before the former First Lady left the Obama Administration, the Tanzanian Ambassador wanted to give her a token of esteem.
Meditation Rugs, Swords, and Horse Head Fiddles: The Strangest Gifts Given to Government Bigwigs
Ben Jacobs
November 11, 2014
Eventually, it was gifted to Czar Peter the Great as a token of goodwill between the Germans and Russians.
The Biggest Art Heist of WWII is Still Unsolved
October 15, 2014
“I would advise any candidate to assess their viability and not just do a token run,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster.
Does Team Hillary Want a Democratic Challenge?
David Freedlander
September 25, 2014
He said some current social media efforts “border on token activism.”
Ebola Tweets Are Missing the Target
Kevin Zawacki
August 3, 2014

Historical Examples of token

Whoever is in need of help the world over, by that token has a claim on us.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan
And twice he had been oblivious to that token of their maturing understanding.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
And the women would slowly nod their heads in token of assent.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
I wish she would; she could 'bear a message and a token,' as the song says.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable
But Alice responded only by moving her head slowly, in token of refusal.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for token

token

noun

an indication, warning, or sign of something

a symbol or visible representation of something

something that indicates authority, proof, or authenticity

a metal or plastic disc, such as a substitute for currency for use in slot machines

a memento

a gift voucher that can be used as payment for goods of a specified value

(modifier) as a matter of form only; nominala token increase in salary

linguistics a symbol regarded as an individual concrete mark, not as a class of identical symbolsCompare type (def. 11)

philosophy an individual instance: if the same sentence has different truth-values on different occasions of utterance the truth-value may be said to attach to the sentence-tokenCompare type (def. 13)

by the same token moreover and for the same or a similar reason

verb

(tr) to act or serve as a warning or symbol of; betoken

Word Origin for token

Old English tācen; related to Old Frisian tēken, Old Saxon tēkan, Old High German zeihhan, Old Norse teikn; see teach

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for token

Old English tacen "sign, symbol, evidence" (related to tæcan "show, explain, teach"), from Proto-Germanic *taiknan (cf. Old Saxon tekan, Old Norse teikn "zodiac sign, omen, token," Old Frisian, Middle Dutch teken, Dutch teken, Old High German zeihhan, German zeichen, Gothic taikn "sign, token"), from PIE root *deik- "to show" (see teach).

Meaning "coin-like piece of stamped metal" is first recorded 1590s. Original sense of "evidence" is retained in by the same token (mid-15c.), originally "introducing a corroborating evidence."

adj.

"nominal," 1915, from token (n.). In integration sense, first recorded 1960.

Idioms and Phrases with token

token

see by the same token; in token of.