I. ˈīˌkän sometimes -_kən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, from Greek eikōn, from eikenai to resemble; perhaps akin to Lithuanian paveikslas example, įvykti to occur, come about
1. : a usually pictorial representation : image
2.
[Late Greek eikōn, from Greek]
a. also ikon or ei·kon “ : a sacred image venerated in churches and homes of Eastern Christianity depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, a saint, or some other religious subject in the conventional manner of Byzantine art and typically painted on a small wooden panel often with a repoussé metal cover but also enameled on metal or made of mosaic
b. : an object of uncritical devotion : idol ; especially : a traditional belief or ideal
the ridiculous drudgery of the Ph.D. and the devotion of university administration to the icon of that degree — Times Literary Supplement
3. in philosophy of language and semiotic : a sign (as a straight line on a map) that signifies by virtue of sharing a property with what it represents (as a straight road) — contrasted with index and symbol
a photograph, a star chart, a model, a chemical diagram are icons, while the word ‘photograph’, the names of the stars and of chemical elements are symbols — C.W.Morris
II. abbreviation
iconography
III. noun
: a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that usually suggests the type of object represented or the purpose of an available function