Main Entry: icon

Variant(s): also ikon \ˈī-ˌkän\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin, from Greek eikōn, from eikenai to resemble

Date: 1572

1 : a usually pictorial representation : image
2 [Late Greek eikōn, from Greek] : a conventional religious image typically painted on a small wooden panel and used in the devotions of Eastern Christians
3 : an object of uncritical devotion : idol
4 : emblem, symbol <the house became an icon of 1960's residential architecture — Paul Goldberger>
5 a : a sign (as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning b : a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that usually suggests the type of object represented or the purpose of an available function

— icon·ic \ī-ˈkä-nik\ adjective

— icon·i·cal·ly \-ni-k(ə-)lē\ adverb