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Podcast 1 · Introduction

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A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

EYE-kon  /ˈaɪkɒn/

Definition

A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or worthy of veneration; a small image on a computer screen representing a program, file, or function; a religious image painted on wood, venerated in the Eastern Orthodox and other Eastern churches; a sign that resembles or directly represents its referent (in semiotics).

Plain meaning

Icon has several related meanings: a religious painting venerated in Orthodox Christianity; a computer desktop symbol (the folder icon, the trash icon); a person who represents a cultural movement or era (a fashion icon, a cultural icon); and in linguistics/semiotics, a sign that looks like what it represents.

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Formal in religious contexts; technical in computing; overused in popular journalism and entertainment commentary (iconic has become one of the most frequently deployed and least specific adjectives in the language).