insignia

From Latin īnsīgnia, nominative plural of īnsīgne (“emblem, token, symbol”). Doublet of ensign.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɪɡ.ni.ə/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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insignia (plural insignias or insignia)

1. A patch or other object that indicates a person's official or military rank, or membership in a group or organization.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:badge

   • 2019 March 18, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution‎^[1], The Center for International Security and Cooperation:

     The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.

2. A symbol or token of personal power, status, or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction.
   • 1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter VI, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

     The former Protector tendered him the oaths, and presented him with the insignia of office, performing the ceremonies of installation.

   • 2021, Tracy Borman, Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II, Grove Atlantic, →ISBN, page 4:

     The most sacred part of the ceremony followed when the new king was anointed with holy oil to confirm his semi-divine status. He was then invested with the royal insignia: the ring, sword, crown, sceptre and rod. Finally, the newly crowned monarch received the homage of his leading subjects.

3. (figurative) A mark or token by which anything is known.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 80:

     But if autumn wear the insignia of nature's royalty, its purple and gold, in only the shaded lane or the green field with its one or two old trees, what is its more than eastern pomp in a wooded empire like the New Forest!

   • 2006, P. Goodrich, The Laws of Love: A Brief Historical and Practical Manual, page 49:

     Rule 23: “The stress of love makes it hard to eat and sleep.” To these empirical laws we can add the various other insignia of love.

• Insignia originated in Latin as the plural of īnsīgne, but in English it had begun to be used as a singular by the 18th century (as in "an insignia...", "the insignia is..."). This is now standard; the use of insigne is now uncommon.^[1][2][3]

• insigne (dated)

insignia

1. plural of insignium
2. plural of insigne

• insignia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• insígnia (reintegrationist)

• IPA^(key): /inˈsiŋnja/ [inˈs̺iŋ.njɐ]
• Rhymes: -iŋnja
• Hyphenation: in‧sig‧nia

insignia f (plural insignias)

1. pin, badge

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ĩːˈsɪŋ.ni.a]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [inˈsiɲ.ɲi.a]

īnsignia

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of īnsigne

• IPA^(key): /inˈsiɡnja/ [ĩnˈsiɣ̞.nja]
• Rhymes: -iɡnja
• Syllabification: in‧sig‧nia

insignia f (plural insignias)

1. badge, insignia

• “insignia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024