badge

English Online Dictionary. What means badge‎? What does badge mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English badge, bagge, bage, bagy, from Anglo-Norman bage or Medieval Latin bagea, bagia (“sign, emblem”), of uncertain origin. Possibly derived from Medieval Latin baga (“ring”), from Old Saxon bāg, bōg (“ring, ornament”), from Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring, bracelet, armband”); or possibly the Anglo-Norman word is derived from an earlier, unattested English word (compare Old English bēag (“ring, bracelet, collar, crown”). Cognate with Scots bagie, badgie, bawgy (“badge”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bæd͡ʒ/
• Rhymes: -ædʒ

Noun

badge (plural badges)

1. A distinctive mark, token, sign, emblem or cognizance, worn on one’s clothing, as an insignia of some rank, or of the membership of an organization.
2. A small nameplate, identifying the wearer, and often giving additional information.
3. A card, sometimes with a barcode or magnetic strip, granting access to a certain area.
4. Something characteristic; a mark; a token.
5. (obsolete, thieves' cant) A brand on the hand of a thief, etc.

   He has got his badge, and piked. ― He was branded on the hand, and is at liberty.

6. (nautical) A carved ornament on the stern of a vessel, containing a window or the representation of one.
7. (heraldry) A distinctive mark worn by servants, retainers, and followers of royalty or nobility, who, being beneath the rank of gentlemen, have no right to armorial bearings.
8. (graphical user interface) A small overlay on an icon that shows additional information about that item, such as the number of new alerts or messages.
9. (Internet, video games) An icon or emblem awarded to a user for some achievement.

10. (slang) A police officer.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:badge

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: バッジ (bajji)
• → Korean: 배지 (baeji)

Translations

Verb

badge (third-person singular simple present badges, present participle badging, simple past and past participle badged)

1. (transitive) To mark or distinguish with a badge.

2. (transitive) To show a badge to.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To enter a restricted area by showing one’s badge.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “badge”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• The Manual of Heraldry, Fifth Edition, by Anonymous, London, 1862, online at [1]

Anagrams

• bedag, begad, debag

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English badge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /badʒ/
• Homophones: badgent, badges

Noun

badge m (plural badges)

1. identity badge

Verb

badge

1. inflection of badger:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “badge”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.