icon
//ˈaɪ.kɒn//
Forms
- Plural
- icons
Definitions
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.
- Last week the Archdiocese sent emmissaries to investigate the icon and decided that the tears were not a hoax, Father Koufos said.
3.A person or thing that is the best example of a certain profession or some doing.
- That man is an icon in the business; he personifies loyalty and good business sense.
- Barbie is viewed as an icon of American culture in her new biography, Barbie: Her Life and Times (Crown, $25), written by Billy Boy, a clothing and jewelry designer in Paris.
4.A small picture that represents something.
- Is it okay if I use your drawing as my icon?
- Click the loudspeaker icon to configure audio settings.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4328
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
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.