icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

, from the Greek word for image, is a religious painting in the tradition of Christianity. Icon may also refer to:

General concepts

Icon (semiotics) Charles Sanders Peirce began writing on semiotics, which he also called semeiotics, meaning the philosophical study of signs, in the 1860s, around the time that he devised his system of three categories. During the 20th century, the term "semio ...

, a sign characterised by

iconicity In functional- cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness (which is typically assumed i ...

, the resemblance to what it signifies **

Pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

, a type of graphic sign *

Icon (computing) In computing, an icon is a pictogram or ideogram displayed on a computer screen in order to help the user navigate a computer system. It can serve as an electronic hyperlink or file shortcut to access the program or data. The user can activate an ...

, an image used in a graphical user interface *

Cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an cultural artifact, artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen ...

, something or someone that is seen as representative of a given culture **

Pop icon A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

, a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era **

Architectural icon An architectural icon is a building considered to be groundbreaking, or to claim uniqueness because of its design. Definition These outstanding buildings and ensembles meet several of the following criteria: # widespread recognition # popularit ...

, a groundbreaking or unique building **

Gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon by members of the LGBTQ community. Such figures usually have a devoted LGBTQ fanbase and act as allies to the LGBTQ community, often through their work, or they have been "openly app ...

, an LGBT cultural icon

Arts, entertainment, and media

Books

* ''Icon'' (novel), a 1997 fiction novel by Frederick Forsyth * ''Icon'', a novel by Bodie and Brock Thoene * '' iCon: Steve Jobs'', a 2005 biography of Steve Jobs by Jeffrey Young *''Icons: Creativity with Camera and Computer'', an illustrated book by photographer Douglas Kirkland

Fictional characters

* Icon (character), a Milestone/DC comic book superhero * Icon the Ungodly, a character from The world of Legend

Film and television

* ''Icon'' (film), a 2005 thriller film * ''Icons'' (TV series), an American documentary TV show * "Icon" (''Stargate SG-1''), a 2004 television episode of ''Stargate SG-1''

Magazines

* ''Icon'' (architecture magazine), British architecture and design magazine * ''Icon'' (lifestyle magazine), a fashion and celebrity magazine * ''ICON'', a Singapore magazine published by

SPH Media Trust SPH Media Trust (SMT), trading as SPH Media, is a mass media company in Singapore. It was incorporated on 19 July 2021 as a company limited by guarantee, it was a spin off from Singapore Press Holdings as part of a restructuring. It owns sev ...

* ''ICON'', a magazine published by

International Committee for the History of Technology International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

* I•CON, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, an academic legal journal

Music

Icon (band) Icon is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in 1979 and initially disbanded in 1990, but later reformed in 2008. As of 2024, Icon currently consists of all five members of the classic lineup: Dan Wexler (guitar), Stephen Clifford (le ...

, an American rock band ** ''Icon'' (Icon album) (1984), the band's self-titled debut album *

No Min-woo No Min-woo (; born May 29, 1986) is a Japanese-born South Korean actor, musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. He is also known under the stage names ICON and MINUE. He debuted as a drummer in TRAX in 2004, and left the band two years later. ...

, stage name ICON, a South Korean actor and musician * Icon (album series), a series of compilation albums released by Universal Music Enterprises * ''Icon'' (Benighted album) (2007) * ''Icon'' (Vince Gill album) (2010) * ''Icon'' (John Lennon album) (2014) * ''Icon'' (Paradise Lost album) (1993) * ''Icon'' (Tony Effe album) (2024) * ''Icon'' (Wetton and Downes album) (2005) * ''Icon'' (Trisha Yearwood album) (2010) * '' DAAS Icon'', a 1990 comedy album by Doug Anthony All Stars * '' Icon 2'' (2011), an album by George Strait * ''Iconic'' (EP), by Icona Pop * ''Icons'' (Eli Keszler album), 2021 * ''Icons'' (None More Black album) (2010) * "Icon" (song), 2017 single by Jaden Smith * "Icon", a 2021 song by Twice from the album '' Formula of Love: O+T=<3'' * "Icons", a 2021 song by Hot Issue * '' The Singles 1992–2003'', a greatest hits album by No Doubt, re-released as ''Icon''

Other arts and entertainment

* '' Def Jam: Icon'', a 2007 fighting video game * ''Icon'', a series of annual exhibitions held at JamFactory in Adelaide, South Australia

Brands and companies

* Hotel Icon (Houston), a hotel in Houston, Texas, US * ICON Aircraft, an aircraft manufacturer in Vacaville, California, US * Icon Books, a London-based publisher *

Icon Comics Icon Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics for creator-owned titles, designed to keep select "A-list" creators producing for Marvel rather than seeing them take creator-owned work to other publishers. History Icon Comics was launched in 200 ...

, a Marvel comics imprint * Icon Group International, a publisher of automatically generated books compiled from Internet sources ** Icon Health Publications, an imprint of Icon Group International * Icon Productions, an American independent production company * Icon Films, a British independent television production company *

ICON PLC ICON plc is an Irish headquartered multinational healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation that provides consulting, clinical development and commercialisation services for the pharmaceutical industry. The company is listed on ...

, a multinational

Contract Research Organization In the life sciences, a contract research organization (CRO) is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in the form of research services outsourced on a contract basis. A CRO may provid ...

* Nokia Lumia Icon, a smartphone made by Nokia * Geely Icon, a sport utility vehicle model * ICON (blockchain platform), a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality

Organizations

* Consorzio ICoN, a consortium of 21 Italian universities, focusing on philology * Icon FC, an amateur association football club in New Jersey, United States * Icon Theatre, a British theatre company * Institute of Conservation, a British cultural heritage organisation *

International Council on Nanotechnology The International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) is an international, multi-stakeholder group committed to developing and communicating information regarding potential environmental and health risks of nanotechnology, thereby fostering risk redu ...

, a group concerned with risks and use of nanotechnology

Science and technology

Icon (programming language) Icon is a very high-level programming language based on the concept of "goal-directed execution" in which an Expression (computer science), expression in code returns "success" along with a result, or a "failure", indicating that there is no vali ...

, a high-level programming language *

ICON (microcomputer) The ICON (also the CEMCorp ICON, Burroughs ICON, and Unisys ICON, and nicknamed the bionic beaver) was a networked personal computer built specifically for use in schools, to fill a standard created by the Ontario Ministry of Education. It was ...

, a computer built in the 1980s * ''Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic'', the global numerical weather prediction model of the German Weather Service *

Ionospheric Connection Explorer Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) was a NASA satellite designed to investigate changes in the ionosphere of Earth, the dynamic region high in the atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. ICON studied ...

(ICON), a NASA satellite mission to study Earth's ionosphere

Science fiction conventions

* Icon (Iowa science fiction convention) * I-CON, an American science fiction fan convention * ICon festival, an Israeli science fiction and fantasy fan convention * List of ICON science fiction conventions

Other uses

* Icon (roller coaster), a roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, UK * Icon Complex, a proposed, multi-purpose low-rise building in Hobart *

, stage name ICON, a South Korean actor and musician * ''

Icon of the Seas ''Icon of the Seas'' is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International and is the lead ship of the . She entered service on 27 January 2024 out of the Port of Miami in the United States. At , ''Icon of the Seas'' is the List of largest c ...

'', a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship * Icon-class cruise ship * Iloilo Convention Center, a convention center in Iloilo City, Philippines