What does icon mean?

Definitions for icon
ˈaɪ kɒnicon

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word icon.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. iconnoun

    (computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface

  2. picture, image, icon, ikonnoun

    a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

    "they showed us the pictures of their wedding"; "a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them"

  3. icon, ikonnoun

    a conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church

GCIDE

  1. iconnoun

    a symbol, especially a symbol whose form suggests its meaning or the object it represents.

  2. iconnoun

    (Computers) a graphical symbol for a data object whose form suggests the nature or function of the object; especially, such a symbol as viewed on the computer screen. In a graphical user interface, pointing to and clicking on an icon may cause any of several types of actions, such as opening a file or executing a program, depending on how the icon properties are defined.

  3. iconnoun

    any object of uncritical devotion.

  4. iconnoun

    an outstanding example of something which has come to represent the class of things to which it belongs; a paragon; used of persons as well as objects.

  5. iconnoun

    (Gr. Ch.) A sacred picture representing the Virgin Mary, Christ, a saint, or a martyr, and having the same function as an image of such a person in the Latin Church. The term is used especially for a highly stylized and conventionalized representation of a holy person, rich in symbolism and used in devotional services in many of the eastern Orthodox churches, especially the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.

Wiktionary

  1. iconnoun

    An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.

  2. iconnoun

    A religious painting, often done on wooden panels.

  3. iconnoun

    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.

  4. iconnoun

    A small picture which represents something (such as an icon on a computer screen which when clicked performs some function.)

  5. iconnoun

    A type of noun whereby the form reflects and is determined by the referent; onomatopoeic words are necessarily all icons. See also symbol and index.

  6. iconnoun

    Pictual representations of files, programs and folders on a computer.

  7. Etymology: From icon, from (eikōn) "likeness, image, portrait". Eastern Orthodox Church sense is attested from 1833. Computing sense first recorded in 1982.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Iconnoun

    A picture or representation.

    Etymology: ἐιϰὼν.

    Boysardus, in his tract of divination, hath set forth the icons of these ten, yet added two others. Thomas Browne, Vulg. Err.

    Some of our own nation, and many Netherlanders, whose names and icons are published, have deserved good commendation. George Hakewill, on Providence.

Wikipedia

  1. Icon

    An icon (from the Greek εἰκών eikṓn 'image, resemblance') is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and certain Eastern Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most common subjects include Christ, Mary, saints and angels. Although especially associated with portrait-style images concentrating on one or two main figures, the term also covers most religious images in a variety of artistic media produced by Eastern Christianity, including narrative scenes, usually from the Bible or the lives of saints. Icons are most commonly painted on wood panels with egg tempera, but they may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from Western Christianity can be classified as "icons", although "iconic" may also be used to describe a static style of devotional image. In the Greek language the term for icon painting uses the same word as for "writing", and Orthodox sources often translate it into English as icon writing.Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the production of Christian images dates back to the very early days of Christianity, and that it has been a continuous tradition since then. Modern academic art history considers that, while images may have existed earlier, the tradition can be traced back only as far as the 3rd century, and that the images which survive from Early Christian art often differ greatly from later ones. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, though very few of these survive. Widespread destruction of images occurred during the Byzantine Iconoclasm of 726–842, although this did settle permanently the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then icons have had a great continuity of style and subject; far greater than in the icons of the Western church. At the same time there has been change and development.

ChatGPT

  1. icon

    An icon is a graphic symbol or image that represents an application, function, or content on a digital interface. It can also refer to a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration. This term is also used in religion to describe a painting or image of a holy figure used as an aid for devotion.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Iconnoun

    an image or representation; a portrait or pretended portrait

  2. Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. e'ikw`n.]

Wikidata

  1. Icon

    An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, icon is also used, particularly in modern culture, in the general sense of symbol — i.e. a name, face, picture, edifice or even a person readily recognized as having some well-known significance or embodying certain qualities: one thing, an image or depiction, that represents something else of greater significance through literal or figurative meaning, usually associated with religious, cultural, political, or economic standing. Throughout history, various religious cultures have been inspired or supplemented by concrete images, whether in two dimensions or three. The degree to which images are used or permitted, and their functions — whether they are for instruction or inspiration, treated as sacred objects of veneration or worship, or simply applied as ornament — depend upon the tenets of a given religion in a given place and time.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Icon

    ī′kon, n. a figure, esp. in the Greek Church, representing Christ, or a saint, in painting, mosaic, &c.—adj. Icon′ic.—n. Iconog′raphy, the art of illustration.—adj. Iconomat′ic, expressing ideas by means of pictured objects.—ns. Iconomat′icism; Iconoph′ilism, a taste for pictures, &c.; Iconoph′ilist, a connoisseur of pictures, &c.; Iconos′tasis, a wooden wall which in Byzantine churches separates the choir from the nave—the icons are placed on it. [L.,—Gr. eikōn, an image.]

Suggested Resources

  1. icon

    Song lyrics by icon -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by icon on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. ICON

    What does ICON stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the ICON acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Matched Categories

Anagrams for icon »

  1. Nico

  2. cion

  3. coin

  4. COIN

How to pronounce icon?

How to say icon in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of icon in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of icon in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of icon in a Sentence

  1. David Stamps:

    Breonna Taylor, like Sandra Bland and other Black women, are often relegated to the back row as the emphasis is typically placed on the systemic racism and brutality that Black men face, this is why Breonna Taylor is an icon. Sandra Bland reminds us that we need to #SayHerName and that all Black life matters.

  2. Priyanka Chopra:

    I don’t think anybody else would be able to do it the way she will. She’s just right for it, she’s an icon, truly, that girls can look up to, that women can look up to. She’s normal, she’s sweet, she’s nice, she thinks about the world, wants to change it and this was even before any of this happened. So I do think Meghan being a part of the royal family is a big step in the direction of so many things; of women, of feminism, of diversity, of race, of the monarchy versus everyone else. It’s a beautiful step in the right direction.

  3. Bob Riha:

    I am so sad to hear the news of Betty White’s passing. It is such a shock, working with Betty White on ‘ The Proposal ’ was such a joy. BETTY WHITE : CELEBRITIES REACT TO TELEVISION ICON'S DEATH.

  4. Amber Melville-Brown:

    Jamie Spears is an icon with a fan base so loyal that they may well through their vocal campaigns have served to boost Jamie Spears confidence sufficiently to give Jamie Spears the courage to speak out, we don't know the truth of the sensational claims made and indeed many of them are denied on both sides. But her currency is unlikely harmed by these highly publicized events, and more likely enhanced by them.

  5. Rachel Nichols:

    Rachel Nichols said it was surprising and disappointing that the NBA did not do the same especially when it had tributes for civil rights icon John Lewis and actor Chadwich Boseman. If you are a league that holds equality as a core value, and I know for sure that this league does, the icons of that equality cant be those who just helped the men that we all see on TV but those who paved the way for the women who worked right alongside them, after all, the NBA is significantly stronger because of all the women who work in it and around it. And we are all significantly stronger because a young lawyer dedicated her life to allow us to have those opportunities. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert released a statement on Bader Ginsburg death on Friday two days before the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun played their playoff game. Sad to hear of the passing of an icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a role model, and a champion for equality for so many.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for icon

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"icon." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/icon>.

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