# badge

Pronunciation: US say "BAJ" /bæd͡ʒ/; UK

## Noun

1. A distinctive mark, token, or emblem worn on clothing as a sign of rank or of membership in an organization.
   - Simple: A small sign worn on clothing to show your group, job, or rank.
   - _Each officer wore a badge indicating their rank._
   - _The volunteers received badges marking their membership in the society._
2. A small nameplate worn to identify its bearer, often listing further details about them.
   - Simple: A small nameplate worn on clothes that shows a person's name and sometimes their job.
   - _The receptionist's badge listed her name and department._
   - _Conference attendees pinned on badges showing their names and companies._
3. A card, sometimes carrying a barcode or magnetic strip, used to gain entry to a restricted area.
   - Simple: A card that lets you into a place, often by tapping or scanning it.
   - _Employees swipe their badge at the turnstile each morning._
   - _Visitors are issued temporary badges that expire at the end of the day._
4. On websites and in apps, an icon or emblem given to a user to mark an achievement.
   - Simple: A small icon you earn in a game or app for doing something special.
   - _The app awards a badge each time a user completes a course._
   - _Players collect badges by clearing the harder challenges._
5. A small overlay placed on an icon that shows additional information, such as the number of new alerts or messages waiting.
   - Simple: A small mark on top of an icon that shows extra information, like how many new messages you have.
   - _The app icon displayed a badge with the number of unread emails._
   - _Notification badges piled up on every icon after the weekend._
6. A characteristic mark or token; an outward sign of some quality.
   - Simple: A sign that shows what something really is or stands for.
   - _His worn boots were a badge of long years on the trail._
   - _They wore their poverty as a badge of honor._
7. A police officer, named for the shield carried as insignia. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A police officer, especially in casual speech.
   - _Two badges were posted outside the courthouse all night._
   - _Every badge in the precinct knew his name._
11. A distinctive mark worn by servants, retainers, and followers of royalty or nobility who, ranking below gentlemen, have no right to a coat of arms.
   - Simple: A sign worn by servants and followers of a noble family who may not have their own coat of arms.
   - _Retainers of the great houses wore their lord's badge into battle._
   - _A bear and ragged staff served as the earl's badge among his men._
12. A carved ornament on the stern of a ship, containing a window or a carved representation of a window.
   - Simple: A carved decoration on the back of a ship that holds a window or a fake window.
   - _The shipwright carved an elaborate badge into the vessel's stern._
   - _A gilded badge framed the false window above the rudder._

## Verb

8. To mark or distinguish someone or something with a badge.
   - Simple: To mark something or someone by giving them a badge.
   - _Security will badge each contractor before the shift begins._
   - _Officials badged the delegates as they arrived._
9. To enter a restricted area by showing a badge for access.
   - Simple: To go into a guarded area by showing your badge.
   - _Staff must badge in at every checkpoint along the corridor._
   - _He badged into the server room just after midnight._
10. To display a badge to someone, especially to prove identity or authority.
   - Simple: To show your badge to someone.
   - _Plainclothes officers must badge anyone they question._
   - _He badged the receptionist and asked to see the records._

## Noun

13. A brand burned onto the hand of a thief or similar offender as a mark of punishment. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A burn mark put on a thief's hand as a punishment.
   - _The constable recognized the old thief by the badge seared into his hand._
   - _He hid the badge on his palm beneath a worn leather glove._

## Origin

From Middle English badge, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bage or Medieval Latin bagea, bagia ("sign, emblem"), of uncertain origin. It may come from Medieval Latin baga ("ring"), from Old Saxon bāg ("ring, ornament") and Proto-Germanic *baugaz ("ring, bracelet"), or the Anglo-Norman word may derive from an earlier, unattested English word (compare Old English bēag "ring, bracelet, crown").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/badge (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).