iconic

English

Etymology

From Late Latin īconicus, from Ancient Greek εἰκονικός (eikonikós). By surface analysis, icon +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪˈkɒnɪk/
• Rhymes: -ɒnɪk

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

iconic (comparative more iconic, superlative most iconic)

1. Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon. [from 17th c.]

   Synonym: famous

   Antonym: aniconic

2. Distinctive, characteristic, indicative of identity.

   Synonym: signature

   an iconic move in martial arts

3. (figurative) Famously and distinctively representative of its type.

   Synonym: emblematic

   • 1983, J. K. Chambers, Milestones, New York: Beech Tree Books, →ISBN, page 111:

     For younger musicians, Coltrane’s death became one of those iconic events that stays vividly in the mind.

   • 1986, John Updike, Roger's Version, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 306:

     She angrily turned, giving me my favorite view, that iconic view of a woman from the rear.

   • 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1]:

     In time The Simpsons would, indeed, resort to spoofing such decidedly non-spooktacular fare like E.T and Mr. And Mrs. Smith (both in “Treehouse Of Horror XVIII”) but in 1992 the field was wide-open and the show could cherry-pick the most iconic and beloved fright fare of all time.

   • 2020 August 12, Andrew Mourant, “The tide is turning for a Victorian wonder”, in Rail, page 50:

     "We did look at building a new bridge, but this is an iconic structure," says Network Rail Project Manager Michael Bryan.

4. (linguistics, semiotics) Representing something; symbolic.

   Antonym: batonic

   an iconic gesture in sign language

   • 1955 [1946], Charles William Morris, Signs, Language, and Behavior, G. Braziller, →ISBN, page 23:

     A portrait of a person is to a considerable extent iconic, but is not completely so since the painted canvas does not have the texture of the skin, or the capacities for speech and motion, […]

Translations

relating to icon

• Catalan: icònic (ca)
• Cornish: ikonek
• Czech: ikonický
• Dutch: voorbeeldig (nl), kenmerkend (nl), iconisch (nl)
• Finnish: ikoni-, ikoninen (fi)
• French: iconique (fr)
• Friulian: iconic
• German: ikonisch (de), ikonenhaft, zeichenhaft
• Indonesian: ikonis (id), ikonik
• Irish: íocónach
• Italian: iconico (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ikonisk

  Nynorsk: ikonisk

• Polish: ikoniczny, ikonowy
• Portuguese: icónico (Portugal), icônico (pt) (Brazil)

representative of its type

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 代表性的 (dàibiǎoxìng de)

• Dutch: iconisch (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: ikoninen (fi), kuvamainen
• French: emblématique (fr)
• German: ikonisch (de), symbolhaft, bemerkenswert (de), bildhaft (de)
• Polish: ikoniczny, ikonowy, ikonowy
• Portuguese: emblemático (pt) m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: please add this translation if you can

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French iconic. By surface analysis, icon +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈko.nik/

Adjective

iconic m or n (feminine singular iconică, masculine plural iconici, feminine and neuter plural iconice)

1. iconic

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	iconic		iconică		iconici	iconice
	definite	iconicul		iconica		iconicii	iconicele
genitive- dative	indefinite	iconic		iconice		iconici	iconice
	definite	iconicului		iconicei		iconicilor	iconicelor

Further reading

• iconic in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)