An icon can be a small picture on a screen that represents a program or file, or a person or thing widely admired and seen as a symbol of something important. In religion, it can also mean a holy image used in worship.
From Late Latin "icon," from Greek "eikōn" meaning "image" or "likeness." It originally referred to religious images and gradually broadened to mean any powerful symbol or famous figure.
The tiny icons on your phone descend from sacred paintings people once prayed in front of. We’ve gone from worshipping religious icons to tapping digital ones that now control huge parts of our lives.
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