Where does “iconography” come from?
Iconography comes from English icon, derived from Latin icon, from Ancient Greek εἰκών meaning image, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ger- meaning to scratch or engrave.
iconography (English): A set of specified or traditional symbolic forms...
Definitions
- A set of specified or traditional symbolic forms...
Ancestry of “iconography”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -graphy | Something written or otherwise represented in the... |
| 2 | French | -graphie | -graphy |
| 3 | Latin | -graphia | -graphy |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | γράφω | to scratch, cut into; to draw, sketch, paint; to... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | grəpʰō | to scratch, cut or carve into |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |