Iconic
adjectiveWidely recognised and admired as a representative symbol of something.
How to spell iconic
6 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce iconic
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does iconic mean?
- adjectiveWidely recognised and admired as a representative symbol of something.
Iconic in a sentence
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The red telephone box is an iconic symbol of British streets.
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The brand built an iconic logo that customers spot from a distance.
Where does iconic come from?
Language of origin: Greek
This word traces back to the Greek eikon, which meant simply an 'image' or 'likeness'. In the early Christian world that image acquired a religious charge, and an eikon came to mean a sacred painting of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint, the sense preserved today in the Eastern Orthodox 'icon'. English took 'icon' through Latin in the 1500s, and the adjective 'iconic' followed, at first describing portraits that were formal and conventional in pose. Only in the twentieth century did 'iconic' broaden into its modern, popular meaning: something so widely recognised that it stands as a symbol of its kind. Notice that the spelling keeps a single c throughout, exactly as in 'icon', a useful reminder for anyone tempted to double it.
How the word is built
- icon (from Greek eikon: image, likeness)
- -ic (adjective suffix)
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