idol English · revision 15140

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=grc εἶδος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈaɪ.dəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|idele]], [[bor|fro|idele]], later [[m|fro|idole]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|īdōlum|t=image, form, apparition]], used in Church Latin for a false god,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[grc|εἴδωλον|tr=eídōlon|t=image, phantom, idol]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|grc|εἶδος|tr=eîdos|t=form, shape]] (see [[idea]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*weidos]], related to words for seeing and knowing (see [[wise]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The Germanic languages had first used a word for god with a prefix meaning “off”, such as [[ang|afgod]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An image of a deity used as an object of worship: about 1250, in The Story of Genesis and Exodus.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED notes that the senses did not appear in English in the order of their development in Greek.^(OED 1989) Polemical use for images of saints is from 1545.^(OED 1989) Any object of excessive devotion has been called an idol since the mid-16th century, mostly in a condemning way:^(Cresswell 2021) a thing from 1557 and a person from 1591.^(OED 1989) A statue or effigy (1548) is an obsolete sense.^(OED 1989) The ''screen idol'' dates from the early 20th century, but nobody wanted to be a ''pop idol'' until near its end.^(Cresswell 2021) Idolatry is from the 13th century, idolater from the 16th,^(Hoad 1986) and idolize from 1598.^(Barnhart 1988) [[idyll|alt=Idyll]] also goes back to Greek eidos.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – an image worshipped as a god.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1545 – images of saints (polemical).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1557 – an object of devotion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – an adored person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1598 – idolize.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 20th century – screen idol.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An image or other object worshipped as a god.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A false god; in Christianity and Judaism, any being other than God given divine honour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing adored, often blindly or excessively: ''a pop idol''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something visible but without substance; a phantom.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[idolatry]]

+ * [[idolize]]

+ * [[idolism]]

+ * [[matinee idol]]

+ * [[Moorish idol]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[idyll]]

+ * [[idea]]

+ * [[eidolon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}