ikon
UK[ˈaɪkɒn]US[ˈaɪkɑːn]
n
A religious image, typically painted on a small wooden panel and venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
n
A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.
Etymology
The word 'ikon' traces its lineage directly to the Ancient Greek term 'eikōn' (εἰκών), which fundamentally meant "likeness," "image," or "representation." This Greek word is believed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root weik- meaning "to resemble" or "to be like," a root also connected to concepts of similarity and appearance. Entering English primarily through ecclesiastical Latin and later from Russian, due to the central role of religious icons in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the term retained its core meaning of a sacred image. Over time, its usage expanded metaphorically in secular contexts to denote any person or object that serves as a powerful symbol or revered exemplar of a particular idea or era.
Analysis
The word 'ikon' is a direct loanword from Greek, where 'eikōn' (εἰκών) meant "likeness, image, portrait." It entered English via Late Latin 'icon' and Russian 'ikona'. As a simplex loanword, its internal Greek morphological structure (if any) is not reflected in its English spelling and is therefore not segmented for the purpose of this analysis.
Examples
The ancient church was adorned with a beautiful, gold-leafed ikon of the Virgin Mary.
She is considered an ikon of the civil rights movement for her unwavering courage.
The old camera has become an ikon of mid-century industrial design.