1.  Something intended or supposed to represent or indicate another thing or an event; a sign; a symbol; as, the rainbow is a token of God's covenant established with Noah. [1913 Webster]

2.  A memorial of friendship; something by which the friendship of another person is to be kept in mind; a memento; a souvenir. [1913 Webster]
"This is some token from a never friend." [1913 Webster]

3.  Something given or shown as a symbol or guarantee of authority or right; a sign of authenticity, of power, good faith, etc. [1913 Webster]
"Say, by this token, I desire his company." [1913 Webster]

4.  A piece of metal intended for currency, and issued by a private party, usually bearing the name of the issuer, and redeemable in lawful money. Also, a coin issued by government, esp. when its use as lawful money is limited and its intrinsic value is much below its nominal value. [1913 Webster]
" It is now made unlawful for private persons to issue tokens." [1913 Webster]

5.  A livid spot upon the body, indicating, or supposed to indicate, the approach of death. [1913 Webster]
"Like the fearful tokens of the plague,
Are mere forerunners of their ends." [1913 Webster]

6.  Ten and a half quires, or, commonly, 250 sheets, of paper printed on both sides; also, in some cases, the same number of sheets printed on one side, or half the number printed on both sides. [1913 Webster]

7.  A piece of metal given beforehand to each person in the congregation who is permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper. [1913 Webster]

8.  A bit of leather having a peculiar mark designating a particular miner. Each hewer sends one of these with each corf or tub he has hewn. [1913 Webster]

9.  In a Jacquard loom, a colored signal to show the weaver which shuttle to use. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   To betoken. Shak. [1913 Webster]

token, n. & adj.
--n.
1 a thing serving as a symbol, reminder, or distinctive mark of something (as a token of affection; in token of my esteem).
2 a thing serving as evidence of authenticity or as a guarantee.
3 a voucher exchangeable for goods (often of a specified kind), given as a gift.
4 anything used to represent something else, esp. a metal disc etc. used instead of money in coin-operated machines etc.
5 (attrib.) a nominal or perfunctory (token effort). b conducted briefly to demonstrate strength of feeling (token resistance; token strike). c serving to acknowledge a principle only (token payment). d chosen by way of tokenism to represent a particular group (the token woman on the committee).

Idiom:
by this (or the same) token
1 similarly.
2 moreover. token money coins having a higher face value than their worth as metal. token vote a parliamentary vote of money, the stipulated amount of which is not meant to be binding.

Etymology:
OE tac(e)n f. Gmc, rel. to TEACH

N  indication, symbolism, symbolization, semiology, semiotics, semeiology, semeiotics, Zeitgeist, characteristic, diagnostic, lineament, feature, trait, fingerprint, voiceprint, footprint, noseprint, cloven hoof, footfall, recognition (memory), diagnostic, divining rod, detector, sign, symbol, index, indice, indicator, point, pointer, exponent, note, token, symptom, dollar sign, dollar mark, type, figure, emblem, cipher, device, representation, epigraph, motto, posy, gesture, gesticulation, pantomime, wink, glance, leer, nod, shrug, beck, touch, nudge, dactylology, dactylonomy, freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show, cue, hint, clue, clew, key, scent, signal, signal post, rocket, blue light, watch fire, watch tower, telegraph, semaphore, flagstaff, cresset, fiery cross, calumet, heliograph, guidon, headlight, mark, scratch, line, stroke, dash, score, stripe, streak, tick, dot, point, notch, nick, print, imprint, impress, impression, keyboard symbols, printing symbols, red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font, jotting, note, annotation, reference, blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure, quotation marks, ", double quotes, " ", parentheses, "( )", brackets, "", braces, "", left arrow, "<", right arrow, ">", forward slash, "/", backward slash, "\", exclamation point, "!", commercial at, "@", pound sign, "#", percent sign, "%", carat, "", ampersand, "&", asterisk, "*", hyphen, "-", dash, "-", "_", em dash, "--", plus sign, "+", equals sign, "=", question mark, "?", period, ", ", semicolon, ", ", colon, ":", comma, ", ", apostrophe, "'", single quote, "'", tilde, "~", badge, criterion, countercheck, countermark, countersign, counterfoil, duplicate, tally, label, ticket, billet, letter, counter, check, chip, chop, dib, totem, tessera, card, bill, witness, voucher, stamp, cacher, trade mark, Hall mark, signature, mark, autograph, autography, attestation, hand, hand writing, sign manual, cipher, seal, sigil, signet, hand and seal, paraph, brand, superscription, indorsement, endorsement, password, watchword, catchword, security card, pass, passkey, credentials, open sesame, timbrology, mot de passe, mot du guet, pass-parole, shibboleth, title, heading, docket, address card, visiting card, carte de visite, insignia, banner, banneret, bannerol, bandrol, flag, colors, streamer, standard, eagle, labarum, oriflamb, oriflamme, figurehead, ensign, pennon, pennant, pendant, burgee, blue Peter, jack, ancient, gonfalon, union jack, banderole, old glory, quarantine flag, vexillum, yellow-flag, yellow jack, tricolor, stars and stripes, bunting, heraldry, crest, coat of arms, arms, armorial bearings, hatchment, escutcheon, scutcheon, shield, supporters, livery, uniform, cockade, epaulet, chevron, garland, love knot, favor, beacon, cairn, post, staff, flagstaff, hand, pointer, vane, cock, weathercock, guidepost, handpost, fingerpost, directing post, signpost, pillars of Hercules, pharos, bale-fire, beacon-fire, l'etoile du Nord, landmark, seamark, lighthouse, balize, polestar, loadstar, lodestar, cynosure, guide, address, direction, name, sign, signboard, warning, omen, prefigurement, trace, record, warning &c, alarm, scepter, trophy, gauge, milestone, milepost, brand, fool's cap, check, telltale, test, mileage ticket, milliary, notification, advertisement, word of command, call, bugle call, trumpet call, bell, alarum, cry, battle cry, rallying cry, angelus, reveille, sacring bell, sanctus bell, exposition &c (explanation), proof, pattern, indicating, indicative, indicatory, denotative, connotative, diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial, individual, known by, recognizable by, indicated, pointed, marked, denotable, indelible, in token of, symbolically, in dumb show, ecce signum, ex ungue leonem, ex pede Herculem, vide ut supra, vultus ariete fortior.

book token, subway token, token economy, token money, token payment