| 释义 |
‖ insignia, n. pl.|ɪnˈsɪgnɪə|
Less freq. in sing. insigne |ɪnˈsɪgniː|.
[L. insignia, pl. of insigne ‘mark’, ‘sign’, ‘badge of office’, n. use of neut. sing. of insignis: see prec. Cf. F. insigne (Dict. Acad. 1835), and see ensign n.]
1. a. Badges or distinguishing marks of office or honour; emblems of a nation, person, etc.
1648Merc. Acad. No. 1. 3 All the Insignia of the late Vice-Chancellor and Proctors. 1722Richardson Statues, &c. in Italy 15 A Figure representing the 4 Cardinal Virtues, as having the Insignia of them all. a1744Pope Let. to Swift (L.), His watch was a present to him from the king of Sicily, whose arms and insignia are graved on the inner case. 1810Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) VI. 578, I have received the King's commands to invest you with the Order of the Bath of which I now transmit you the insignia. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xi. 46 King Harold..received in due order the insignia of his kingly office.
b. sing. insigne; a badge, ensign, or emblem.
1774J. Bryant Mythol. I. 375 The swan was undoubtedly the insigne of Canaan. 1794Mathias Purs. Lit. (1798) 309 Should the insigne of a Chancellor's authority be borne by a satellite of a French Directory? 1893G. Allen in Westm. Gaz. 9 Aug. 3/1 A cross, which was once the instrument of the vilest punishment reserved for slaves, is now..an insigne of knighthood. 1912R. A. Knox in The Blue Bk. July 124 The seal, and symbol, and secret of Watson is, of course, his bowler. It is not like other bowlers ―it is a priestly vestment, an insigne of office. 1948W. R. Benét Reader's Encycl. 850/1 The men of Lord Louis Mountbatten's Southeastern Asia command wore it [sc. the figure of a phoenix] as an insigne in World War II.
¶ insignia has been erroneously used as sing., with pl. -as.
The erroneous use is discussed by L. Pound in Amer. Speech (1956) XXXI. 156 f.
1774Trinket 144 A red coat cockade and shoulder-knot, those irresistible insignias. 1802Wellington Mem. Marhatta War in Gurw. Desp. (1837) I. 368 Bajee Rao..invested himself with every regal insignia. 1807W. H. Ireland Mod. Ship of Fools 182 Bells, ladle, and the fool's cap..Insignias of their liking. 1832W. Irving Alhambra II. 98 In his hand he bore a slender white wand, the dreaded insignia of his office. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 566, I met this morning a big burly chief with his insignia of office—a great stick. 1971Times 24 Dec. 13/2, I saw not a single racer at Sestrière bearing an insignia that seemed out of place.
2. (Usually fig. from 1.) Marks or tokens indicative of anything.
1796E. Hamilton Lett. Hindoo Rajah II. 72 Families..in a situation to afford the expensive insignia of sorrow. 1824W. Irving T. Trav. I. 287 All these insignia announced that the mighty London was at hand. 1831Brewster Newton (1855) II. xvii. 155 Before the middle period of his life, Newton was invested with all the insignia of immortality. |