An Icon Was a Painted Image Long Before It Was a Symbol
An icon is a symbol or admired figure. The word began as a religious painting and later named a computer graphic.
An icon is a symbol, a widely admired person, or a small picture on a screen. Greek *eikon* meant simply an image, and the word first named devotional paintings in the Eastern Church. The computing sense arrived in the 1970s at Xerox PARC, where researchers needed a name for the small pictures representing files — they reached for the word already meaning a small image standing for something larger. *Iconoclast* literally means image-breaker, from the Byzantine disputes over destroying icons.
- A religious image. *A Byzantine icon.*
- A symbol. *An icon of freedom.*
- A screen graphic. *Click the icon.*
- Iconoclast — an image-breaker. *An iconoclast.*
- Greek — *eikon*, an image. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | icon | An icon. |
| Plural | icons | Icons. |
| Adjective | iconic | Iconic. |
| Related | iconoclast | An iconoclast. |
| Greek | eikon | An image. |
- The icon was painted on wood.Religion.
- Click the icon to open it.Computing.
- Iconoclast means image-breaker.Etymology.
The Byzantine iconoclasm
- Two periods of destruction in the eighth and ninth centuries
- Iconoclasts held that religious images were idolatry
- Iconodules defended them as aids to devotion
- Enormous numbers of early icons were destroyed
- The dispute ended in 843 with images restored
Greek *eikon*, a likeness or image, through Latin *icon*.
Why is a computer graphic called an icon?
Researchers at Xerox PARC in the 1970s borrowed the word, which already meant a small image standing for something larger.
What is an iconoclast?
Literally an image-breaker, from Byzantine disputes over destroying religious images. It now means anyone who attacks established beliefs.