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

The 27-year-old is part of the national iconography, right up there with Veuve Clicquot and workers’ strikes, and this swirling support system around him choreographs his every step. —Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026

The idea of getting to go to the Halloween store, or getting to go to a haunted house, or just swim in scary iconography, that will always be associated with childhood for me. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 May 2026

Large cardboard cutouts of human and natural figures drawn from Junkanoo iconography were a hallmark of his practice; examples appear in the Venice presentation. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 7 May 2026

My Play Watch offers other versions themed around nerdy iconography, including Tetris, Space Invaders, and even emoji. —James Peckham, PC Magazine, 1 May 2026

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