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.

Concepts

icon

ikon

image

picture

sacred image

illustration

pictogram

portrait

symbol

idol

figure

pictograph

likeness

graven image

diagram

graphic

drawing

painting

tablature

iconography

insert drawing

pictorial view

delineation

depicting

depiction

effigy

eidos

exposure

frame

photo

portrayal

portraying

shot

simulacrum

tableau

video

statue

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.