Dictionary
to•ken
Pronunciation: (tō'kun), [key]—
n.
1. something serving to represent or indicate some fact, event, feeling, etc.; sign:
Black is a token of mourning.
2. a characteristic indication or mark of something; evidence or proof:
Malnutrition is a token of poverty.
3. a memento; souvenir; keepsake:
The seashell was a token of their trip.
4. something used to indicate authenticity, authority, etc.; emblem; badge:
Judicial robes are a token of office.
5. Also called
to'ken 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.
6. anything of only nominal value similarly used, as paper currency.
7. an item, idea, person, etc., representing a group; a part as representing the whole; sample; indication.
8. Logic, Ling.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.” Cf.
type (def. 8).
9. by the same token,
a. in proof of which.
b. moreover; furthermore:
She has a talent as a painter, and by the same token has a sharp eye for detail.
10. in token of, as a sign of; in evidence of:
a ring in token of his love.
—
v.t.
to be a token of; signify; symbolize.
—
adj.
1. serving as a token:
a token gift; a token male on an all-female staff.
2. slight; perfunctory; minimal:
token resistance. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
