Badge
nounA small emblem or sign worn or carried to show identity, rank, membership, or achievement.
How to spell badge
5 letters · 1 syllable
How to pronounce badge
What does badge mean?
- nounA small emblem or sign worn or carried to show identity, rank, membership, or achievement.
- verbTo mark, label, or provide someone or something with a distinguishing emblem.
Badge in a sentence
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noun
The security guard clipped a visitor badge to my jacket at reception.
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verb
The firm will badge each laptop with an asset tag before delivery.
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noun
Every officer must show a badge before entering the restricted floor.
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verb
Organisers badge every delegate at the door so staff can verify access.
Where does badge come from?
Language of origin: Other
Badge first appears in Middle English during the 1300s as 'bage' or 'bagge', meaning a distinctive mark or emblem worn to show allegiance, rank, or service. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, which is why dictionaries hedge rather than commit; one suggested link is to the Anglo-Latin word 'bagia', recorded in medieval records for an emblem or sign. In its earliest use a badge was the heraldic device a lord gave to his retainers and servants so that everyone could see whose household they belonged to. From that feudal sense it broadened to mean any small token of identity or achievement, from a constable's badge of office to a scout's cloth badge. Because the word ends in the same '-dge' cluster as edge, ledge, and judge, the silent 'd' before the 'ge' is the spelling point worth fixing in memory.
How the word is built
- badge (single root, no analysable prefix or suffix in modern English)
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