To name as a mere gesture (5)
I believe the answer is:
token
'a mere gesture' is the definition.
'token' can be an answer for 'gesture' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'a mere' bit.
'to name' is the wordplay.
'name' becomes 'ken' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to'+'ken'='TOKEN'
'as' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for token that I've seen before include "Disc used as money or a gift card" , "Privately issued coin or voucher" , "Symbol; metal disc" , "Voucher (for, eg, books)" , "Sign, maybe substitute for the real thing" .)