icon

also ikon noun Etymology: Latin, from Greek eikōn, from eikenai to resemble Date: 1572 1. a usually pictorial representation ; image 2. [Late Greek eikōn, from Greek] a conventional religious image typically painted on a small wooden panel and used in the devotions of Eastern Christians 3. an object of uncritical devotion ; idol 4. emblem, symbol <

the house became an icon of 1860's residential architecture — Paul Goldberger

> 5. a. a sign (as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning b. a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that usually suggests the type of object represented or the purpose of an available function • iconic adjective • iconically adverb