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Flag: gbEnglishOxford Dictionary of English

icon /ˈʌɪkɒn , ˈʌɪkən /
noun
1 (also ikon) a devotional painting of Christ or another holy figure, typically executed on wood and used ceremonially in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.
2 a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration:
this iron-jawed icon of American manhood.
3 Computing a symbol or graphic representation on a screen of a program, option, or window.
4 Linguistics a sign which has a characteristic in common with the thing it signifies, for example the word snarl pronounced in a snarling way.
– ORIGIN mid 16th century (in the sense simile): via Latin from Greek eikōn likeness, image. Current senses date from the mid 19th century onwards.