English
iconic
Iconic comes from Late Latin īconicus ‘of an image, iconic’, and goes back to Ancient Greek εἰκών.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰκών‘image’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEεἰκονικόςeikonikós‘belonging to or employing images’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEīconicus‘of an image, iconic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1955iconic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰκών‘image’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEεἰκονικόςeikonikós‘belonging to or employing images’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEīconicus‘of an image, iconic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1955iconic
Earliest quotation: 1955, 1946, Charles William Morris: “A portrait of a person is to a considerable…”
Equivalent to icon + -ic
Ancient Greek εἰκών ‘likeness, image, portrait’
Latin īcōn ‘image, artistic representation of a thing’
English icon
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to resemble’
victory, province, victim, weakness, witch, victor, convince, wicked, wo, conviction, invincible, wight, weakly, vicar, eviction, convict, evict, vanquish, wile, waw, 33 more
through Ancient Greek εἰκών ‘image’
Today it means
adj Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek εἰκών / iconic