Etymograph

English

icon

Icon comes from Latin īcōn ‘image, artistic representation of a thing’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to resemble’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to resemble’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰκών2eikṓn‘likeness, image, portrait’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīcōn2‘image, artistic representation of a thing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1981icon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἰκών
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English icon
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, Robert Palmer, Two Icons of Rock Music: “Only a handful of rock musicians have become genuine…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἰκών‘to resemble’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰκώνWiktionary, English iconeikṓn‘likeness, image, portrait’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīcōnWiktionary, English icon‘image, artistic representation of a thing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1981iconWiktionary, English icon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, Robert Palmer, Two Icons of Rock Music: “Only a handful of rock musicians have become genuine…”

first attested Computing sense first recorded in 1982 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

Eastern Orthodox Church sense is attested from 1833. Computing sense first recorded in 1982.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to resemble’

province, victory, victim, weakness, witch, victor, convince, wicked, conviction, invincible, wight, weakly, vicar, eviction, convict, 38 more

through Ancient Greek εἰκών ‘likeness, image, portrait’

4 more

Today it means

noun An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an object of religious devotion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “icon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek εἰκών. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / icon

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