noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˌaɪkəˈnɒɡɹəfi/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɒɡɹəfi
CMU ARPABET:AY2 K AH0 N AA1 G R AH0 F IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A set of specified or traditional symbolic forms associated with the subject or theme of a stylized genre of art.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The art of representation by pictures or images; the description or study of portraiture or representation, as of persons.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
the iconography of the ancients
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The study of representative art in general.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with a person or a subject
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
religious iconography
the propagandistic iconography of a despot
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: picture, image, icon, ikon
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English icono- Proto-Indo-European *gerbh- Proto-Hellenic *grə́phō Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ) Ancient Greek -γραφίᾱ (-graphíā)bor. French -graphieder. English -graphy English iconography From icono- + -graphy.
Across languages
Translations
40 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
ikonografie
— set of symbolic forms
Arabic:
علم رسم الأيقونات
— set of symbolic forms
Azerbaijani:
ikonoqrafiya
— set of symbolic forms
Basque:
ikonografia
— set of symbolic forms
Bulgarian:
иконография
(ikonografija)
— set of symbolic forms
Catalan:
iconografia
— set of symbolic forms
Chinese Mandarin:
圖像誌 /图像志
— set of symbolic forms
Czech:
ikonografie
— set of symbolic forms
Danish:
ikonografi
— set of symbolic forms
Dutch:
iconografie
— set of symbolic forms
Esperanto:
ikonografio
— set of symbolic forms
Estonian:
ikonograafia
— set of symbolic forms
Finnish:
ikonografia
— set of symbolic forms
French:
iconographie
— set of symbolic forms
Galician:
iconografía
— set of symbolic forms
Georgian:
იკონოგრაფია
(iḳonograpia)
— set of symbolic forms
German:
Ikonografie
— set of symbolic forms
Hebrew:
איקונוגרפיה
— set of symbolic forms
Hungarian:
ikonográfia
— set of symbolic forms
Ido:
ikonografio
— set of symbolic forms
Indonesian:
ikonografi
— set of symbolic forms
Irish:
íocónagrafaíocht
— set of symbolic forms
Italian:
iconografia
— set of symbolic forms
Japanese:
図像学
— set of symbolic forms
Korean:
도상학
(dosanghak)
— set of symbolic forms
Norwegian:
ikonografi
— set of symbolic forms
Persian:
شمایلنگاری
— set of symbolic forms
Polish:
ikonografia
— set of symbolic forms
Portuguese:
iconografia
— set of symbolic forms
Romanian:
iconografie
— set of symbolic forms
Russian:
иконография
(ikonografija)
— set of symbolic forms
Serbo-Croatian:
ikonografija
— set of symbolic forms
Slovene:
ikonografija
— set of symbolic forms
Spanish:
iconografía
— set of symbolic forms
Swedish:
ikonografi
— set of symbolic forms
Tagalog:
ikonograpiya
— set of symbolic forms
Turkish:
ikonografi
— set of symbolic forms
Ukrainian:
іконографія
(ikonohrafija)
— set of symbolic forms
