token. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

token

SYLLABICATION:	to·ken
PRONUNCIATION:	tkn
NOUN:	1. Something serving as an indication, proof, or expression of something else; a sign: “Tears are queer tokens of happiness” (Eugene O'Neill). See synonyms at sign. 2. Something that signifies or evidences authority, validity, or identity: The scepter is a token of regal status. 3. A distinguishing feature or characteristic. 4. One that represents a group, as an employee whose presence is used to deflect from the employer criticism or accusations of discrimination. 5. A keepsake or souvenir. 6. A piece of stamped metal used as a substitute for currency: subway tokens.
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: to·kened, to·ken·ing, to·kens To betoken or symbolize; portend.
ADJECTIVE:	1. Done as an indication or a pledge: a token payment. 2a. Perfunctory; minimal: a token gesture of reconciliation; token resistance. b. Merely symbolic: refused to be the token woman on the committee.
IDIOMS:	by the same token In like manner; similarly. in token of As an indication of: a ring given in token of love.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old English tcen. See deik- in Appendix I.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.