: How to find existing names or associations a symbol has? I saw a symbol like this, and didn't know what it was called or what existing associations it might have: It seems like a pretty

@Smith574

Used in architectural or engineering plans, primarily in sections. It represents an elevation (height). This symbol might appear on a line, with notes above and data below. E.g. Finished Floor / 36.25'

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@Merenda852

After Google and symbols.com, it looks like graphicdesign.stackexchange.com is probably your next best bet.

The term for the symbol you posted depends on the field it's being used in:


In print, it's usually known as a registration mark.
In architecture it's described as a position mark.
In recorded crash testing, it's referred to as a calibration mark.


If there's a true proper name for it, it'd probably do to ask somebody at the NIST. (I tried looking in Handbook 44, but the only two uses of a "*tion mark" term in it both refer to an identification mark for a company's logo.)

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@Courtney577

I'm not sure of a general library, but this is the symbol for centre of gravity in engineering. You also see it used on crash test dummies and vehicles, where apparently it's a danger symbol.

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@Karen819

[...] what is an effective research process for looking into the existing meanings of a symbol you might be using in a drawing or icon?


If you don't recognize the symbol and you can't easily locate it using methods like Googling for "symbol" or "symbols" or using other reference material you have available, then perhaps the symbol has no traditional, widely-recognized meaning at all. If you see the symbol displayed somewhere, I would try to find out who created it and ask them what their intended meaning was.

Edit: It seems that asking a few thousand people on a site like this also wouldn't hurt :)

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