Standard Lemma guide

iconology

noun · 2 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /aɪkəˈnɒlədʒi/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The study of icons in art or art history.

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 branch of art history that studies visual images and their symbolic meaning (especially in social or political terms)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: art history

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek εἰκών (eikṓn, “icon”) + -logy.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: iconologia — the study of icons
  • Chinese Mandarin: 圖像學 /图像学 (túxiàngxué) — the study of icons
  • Dutch: iconologie — the study of icons
  • Finnish: ikonologia — the study of icons
  • French: iconologie — the study of icons
  • Italian: iconologia — the study of icons
  • Japanese: 図像解釈学 (zuzōkaishakugaku) — the study of icons
  • Japanese: イコノロジー (ikonorojī) — the study of icons
  • Kazakh: пұттану (pūttanu) — the study of icons
  • Polish: ikonologia — the study of icons
  • Portuguese: iconologia — the study of icons
  • Spanish: iconología — the study of icons