something like linking or connecting (symbolically)

Is there a word for linking something to something symbolically. I mean it is said that sg is linked with sg. Accordingly, can we talk about linking sg to sg? Or should another word be used? I mean that e.g. I hear a word which I don’t know what it means, so I would say there’s nothing I can link it to. Or a tradition is mentioned, and I say we can link or attach or connect it to Spain. Or a concept is mentioned which I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it is used in geometry, so I say we can link it/it can be linked to geometry. But it is intended to be different than “is linked to” (which claims a fact), because of the word “can.”