D defs.my
Entry 6 senses Webster, 1913

icon

/(ī"kŏn)/ · i·con · IPA /ˈaɪ.kɑn/
01 n. An image or representation; a portrait or pretended portrait.
  1. 1.
    An image or representation; a portrait or pretended portrait.
    “Netherlands whose names and icons are published.” — Hakewill.
  2. 2.
    A sacred picture representing the Virgin Mary, Christ, a saint, or a martyr, and having the same function as an image of such a person in the Latin Church. The term is used especially for a highly stylized and conventionalized representation of a holy person, rich in symbolism and used in devotional services in many of the eastern Orthodox churches, especially the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.(Gr. Ch.)
  3. 3.
    a symbol, especially a symbol whose form suggests its meaning or the object it represents.
  4. 4.
    a graphical symbol for a data object whose form suggests the nature or function of the object; especially, such a symbol as viewed on the computer screen.(Computers)
  5. 5.
    any object of uncritical devotion.
    “The former congresswoman and Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is still an icon to many party members.” — The New York Times, April 16, 1998
  6. 6.
    an outstanding example of something which has come to represent the class of things to which it belongs; a paragon; used of persons as well as objects.