ˈsimbəˌlizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: symbol (I) + -ism
1. : the practice or art of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible, intangible, or spiritual, by means of visible or sensuous representation: as
a. : the use of conventional or traditional signs (as the nimbus) in the representation especially of divine beings and spirits in order to indicate qualities, powers, degrees, or other attributes
b. : artistic imitation or invention that is not an end in itself but a method of revealing or suggesting immaterial, ideal, or otherwise intangible truth or states and ranges in form from the allegorization of nature or life to the presentation of ideas, emotions, or states of mind through concatenations of sound (as in music or poetry), arrangements of lines and planes (as in painting and sculpture), or contrasts or blendings of color (as in painting) — compare imagism
2. : the theological study of religious creeds and confessions of faith : symbolics
3. : a system of symbols or representations