icon

Meaning

1. An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.
2. A type of religious painting portraying a saint or scene from Scripture, often done on wooden panels.
3. A person or thing that is the best example of a certain profession or some doing.
4. A small picture that represents something.
5. (informal) A small picture that represents something.
6. A word, character, or sign whose form reflects and is determined by the referent; onomatopoeic words are necessarily all icons.

Synonyms

image

ikon

picture

illustration

sacred image

idol

pictogram

symbol

portrait

figure

iconography

likeness

painting

🖼️

photo

pictograph

portrayal

portraying

shot

simulacrum

statue

tablature

tableau

video

eidos

pictorial view

delineation

insert drawing

depicting

depiction

diagram

drawing

effigy

exposure

frame

graphic

graven image

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈaɪ.kɒn/

Etymology

From Latin īcōn, from Ancient Greek εἰκών (eikṓn, “likeness, image, portrait”). Eastern Orthodox Church sense is attested from 1833. Computing sense first recorded in 1982.