Icon (disambiguation) facts for kids

An icon is a special picture, often of something holy or divine. You'll mostly find these kinds of icons in Eastern Christianity, which is a branch of the Christian religion. If you want to learn more about this, check out the article on Icon.

Iconography is the study of all sorts of images. It looks at their history and what they mean. This is a big part of art history. The word can also mean symbolism, which is when one thing stands for another.

In everyday life, an icon can be a small picture or Pictogram that stands for an object, a place, a control button, a political party, or even a government. Think of the little pictures you see on signs or maps. You can learn more about this in the article Icon (secular).

Different Meanings of "Icon"

The word "icon" can mean many different things! Here are some of them:

• Cultural Icon: This is something that is very important and well-known in a certain culture. It could be a famous person, a special building, or even a popular song that everyone recognizes.
• Books and Movies:
  • Icon is a thrilling book written by Frederick Forsyth.
  • Icon is a movie that was made based on that book.
• Comics: Icon is also the name of a comic book and its main character, published by Milestone Media.
• Music:
  • Icon is the name of a music album by John Wetton and Geoff Downes.
  • Icon is another music album, this one by the British band Paradise Lost.
• Television: "Icon" is the title of an episode from the TV show Stargate SG-1.
• Companies: Icon Productions is a film company started by the famous actor and director Mel Gibson.

Icons in Computers

When you use a computer, tablet, or phone, you see icons all the time!

• Computer Icons: These are the small pictures you click on to open programs, files, or do other things. They help you understand what something is without reading a lot of words. They are a key part of a graphical user interface.
• Icon-based Games: Some games use lots of icons instead of text to show you what's happening or what you can do.
• Computer Systems: The Unisys ICON was a special computer made for schools in Ontario, Canada.

Other Interesting Uses

• Biographies: iCon Steve Jobs is a book that tells the life story of Steve Jobs, who helped create Apple Computer.
• Gaming: In the game Dungeons & Dragons, "iconic characters" are well-known characters that represent different types of heroes or villains in the game.

See also