The sword hasn't had a military function for a hundred years, but is still part of an officer's full-dress uniform, precisely because a sword always symbolized "an officer and a gentleman.
出自-2014年6月阅读原文
英语六级真题
It symbolized the American spirit.
出自-2013年12月阅读原文
柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典释义
VERB
象征;代表
If one thing symbolizes another, it is used or regarded as a symbol of it.