Pictogram

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A simplified graphic symbol or image that represents a concept or object without using letters or numerals
2. A visual symbol using recognizable images or icons to communicate meaning or information without reliance on written text or numbers
3. A graphic representation employing simplified drawings or pictures to convey ideas, data, or messages in a form accessible without literacy

Etymology: "Pictogram" is a compound built from Latin "pictus," the past participle of "pingere" meaning "to paint," joined by a connecting "-o-" to the Greek-derived "-gram," meaning something written or drawn. The result is a word that literally describes a painted or drawn mark. The pairing of a Latin root with a Greek suffix is typical of modern coinages, which were assembled from classical pieces to name new things rather than inherited from antiquity. The word's sense has narrowed considerably from its literal parts. Anything painted or drawn could in principle be a "pictogram," but in use the term settled on signs that stand for ideas through simplified images, such as the figure on a restroom door or the symbol on an airport map. Its meaning therefore rests less on the act of drawing and more on the image functioning as a message that a reader can grasp without learning a language.

Synonyms: icon, symbol, figure, image, drawing