stigma

Etymology 1

From Latin stigma, from Ancient Greek στίγμα (stígma, “brand”), from στίζω (stízō, “I mark”). Doublet of stick

noun

1. A mark of infamy or disgrace.
2. A scar or birthmark.
3. (Christianity, chiefly in the plural stigmata) A mark on the body corresponding to one of the wounds of the Crucifixion on Jesus' body, and sometimes reported to bleed periodically.
4. (literary, figurative) An outward sign; an indication.
5. (botany) The sticky part of a flower that receives pollen during pollination.
   Now you see just how the stamen gets its lusty dust onto the stigma / And why this frenzied chlorophyllous orgy starts in spring is no enigma! 1982, Dennis Linde (lyrics and music), “Reproduction”, in Grease 2
6. (medicine) A visible sign or characteristic of a disease.

Etymology 2

Partly from Ancient Greek στίγμα (stígma, “mark, sign”), and partly from the acrophonic value of its initial st- as well as the analogy with the name of sigma.

noun

1. (typography) A ligature of the Greek letters sigma and tau, (Ϛ/ϛ).