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icon

icon

25 6.7
A painted image of a holy person used in Eastern Orthodox worship
  • noun
  • /ˈaɪkɒn/
translation icon : icono
  • I walked into a hallway filled with icons and a huge crucifix hanging on the right-hand wall.
  • icon of a saint
  • a religious icon
  • a miraculous icon

Examples

  • All day she murmured prayers, kneeling before the holy icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The priest carefully prepared the icon of Saint George for the evening service.

  • The icon of the Virgin of the Don.

  • You really think religious icons are gonna save you?

  • You are responsible for raising an icon that draws worship from the Lord.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • 'It will unlock the hiding place of two pieces of a sacred icon.

  • The inscription on the icon indicates the only way.

  • Icons are usually connected to the Eastern Church.

  • Over his headboard, hanging like a religious icon, was my picture in a silver frame.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • But that doesn't excuse the theft of a sacred church icon.

Synonyms

ikon
vsicon
  • Archaic
9.9

A religious painting of a saint on a small wooden board used in Orthodox churches

is the same meaning but uses the more common modern spelling

How Sacred

icon
25 6.7
picture
1.0

Surface Forms

icon singular
icons plural

Etymology

Icon comes from the Greek word eikon meaning 'image' or 'likeness'. It was used for holy pictures in churches, so an icon is a religious painting that people pray before.