Icon or ikon?
icon is a noun meaning “An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an…”; ikon is a noun meaning “Alternative form of icon (religious image)”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) icon is about 52 times as common as ikon.
What is the difference between icon and ikon?
| icon | ikon | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an object of religious devotion A type of religious painting portraying a saint or scene from Scripture, often done on wooden panels | Alternative form of icon (religious image) |
| Example | That man is an icon in the business; he personifies loyalty and good business sense | none recorded |
| Forms | icons | ikons |
| Pronunciation | /ˈaɪ.kɒn/ /ˈaɪ.kən/ /ˈaɪ.kɑn/ | not recorded |
| In writing | 14 times per million words | about once in every 4 million words |
Sources: icon and ikon in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of icon and ikon
icon
- 1
An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an object of religious devotion
- 2
Acronym of index currency option note, a type of financial instrument
- 3
A type of religious painting portraying a saint or scene from Scripture, often done on wooden panels
- 4
A person or thing that is the best example of a certain profession or some doing
That man is an icon in the business; he personifies loyalty and good business sense
- 5
A small picture that represents something
Click the loudspeaker icon to configure audio settings
- 6
informalAn image used to represent a user; an avatar or profile picture
Is it okay if I use your drawing as my icon?
- 7
A word, character, or sign whose form reflects and is determined by the referent; onomatopoeic words are necessarily all icons
ikon
- 1
Alternative form of icon (religious image)
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, icon or ikon?
icon appears 14 times per million words; ikon about once in every 4 million words.
icon 14 times per million wordsikon about once in every 4 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).