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did icon only mean a holy image?
icon is used in combination with other words, and it never has a 'religious/holy' sense in these other uses, iconclast, for example.



An icon (from Greek εἰκών, eikon, "image") is an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it,

As icon stands for image or representation of anything ,
a religious or holy sense was for a long time the overpowering meaning. The Greek orthodox icons have been about religious representation uniquely. The word 'icon'does no longer stand for image but for that one special piece of wood painted and guilded, showing religious contents only.

The object has taken over the original meaniing of the word, so icon becomes icon . (wood, paint, Saint)
Literally, an iconoclast is a person who destroys icons, that is, sacred paintings or sculpture.

I'm sure the present use of icon for famous people is a takeover from the religious, the worshipping meaning.
In the computer world the word returns to its original meaning : image, representing anything.

Last edited by BranShea; 02/13/07 07:15 PM.