iconography

noun

ico·​nog·​ra·​phy ˌī-kə-ˈnä-grə-fē 

plural iconographies

1

: the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject

2

: pictorial material relating to or illustrating a subject

3

: the imagery or symbolism of a work of art, an artist, or a body of art

4

: iconology

Did you know?

If you saw a 17th-century painting of a man writing at a desk with a lion at his feet, would you know you were looking at St. Jerome, translator of the Bible, who, according to legend, once pulled a thorn from the paw of a lion, which thereafter became his devoted friend? And if a painting showed a young woman reclining on a bed with a shower of gold descending on her, would you recognize her as Danaë, locked up in a tower to keep her away from the lustful Zeus, who then managed to gain access to her by transforming himself into golden light (or golden coins)? An iconographic approach to art can make museum-going a lot of fun—and amateur iconographers know there are also plenty of symbols lurking in the images that advertisers bombard us with daily.

Examples of iconography in a Sentence

the iconography of the 1960s

Recent Examples on the Web

Egyptian geese, on the other hand, often represented blessed souls in ancient iconography. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025

In this light, the stakes of the battle over Confederate iconography are higher than ever. —Time, 5 Sep. 2025

The style, which launched at the end of March, recasts the Gazelle with a natural crepe sole and a silk base embossed with tonal Clot iconography. —Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2025

Shrek 2 took everything audiences loved about the first movie and amplified it, from the absurdist takes on fairy tale legends to its shrewd deployment of pop culture iconography. —Skyler Trepel September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin īconographia "making of images," borrowed from Greek eikonographía "sketch, description" (Late Greek, "making of images"), from eikono- icono- + -graphia -graphy

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for iconography

• bibliography
• choreography
• chromatography
• crystallography
• hagiography
• lexicography
• metallography
• myelography
• oceanography
• physiography
• plethysmography
• polarography