Image

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɪm.ɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. A visual representation or picture of something, either physical or mental, that conveys appearance or perception
2. A representation that visually depicts an object or concept, capturing its essence and conveying an idea or impression through various forms of media
3. A depiction in visual form that illustrates an object, concept, or idea, communicating information or emotion to the observer through various means of representation

Etymology: The Latin "imāgō" meant a copy or likeness, and it had a surprising relative in "imitari," meaning "to copy, imitate." Both descend from a common ancestral root, so the word for a picture and the act of imitating are close cousins. Latin "imāgō" also had a more specialized sense: it was used for the wax masks of ancestors kept in Roman households, which were carried in funeral processions. The word reached English through Old French "image," which itself came from that Latin form. Middle English speakers borrowed it as "ymage," and the word gradually settled into its modern spelling. Along the way it developed the sense of a mental picture as well as a physical likeness, and over time that broadened into the visual representation it describes today. Modern English also keeps a doublet of this word: "imago," taken directly from Latin in its unchanged form and used mainly in entomology for the adult stage of an insect. Its sibling "image" went the French route, so the two words share an origin but reached English by different paths.

Synonyms: picture, photo, illustration, depiction, representation

Antonyms: reality, truth