icoon

icoon is the Dutch word for icon. In computing and digital media, an icoon is a small graphical symbol used to represent a file, program, or function on a computer screen, smartphone, or website. Desktop and mobile interfaces rely on iconography to aid recognition and navigation, and icoon designs vary from simple geometric shapes to detailed pictograms. The singular form is most common in everyday use, with the plural often written as iconen in Dutch.

Etymology traces the word back to the same historical root as the English term “icon”: from French icône, Latin icona, and Greek eikōn, all meaning “image” or “likeness.” Outside computing, the term can also appear in Dutch discussions of religious art or cultural imagery, where it denotes sacred images or revered symbols in a manner similar to the English use of “icon.”

In branding, media, and design contexts, icoon is sometimes employed as a stylistic or functional label to emphasize recognizability and clarity, drawing on the familiar concept of a symbol that conveys information quickly.

See also: icon; iconography; file format .ico.