idol

Etymology

From Old French idole, from Latin idolum, from Ancient Greek εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image, idol”), from εἶδος (eîdos, “form”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: īʹd(ə)l, IPA^(key): /ˈaɪd(ə)l/
• Rhymes: -aɪdəl
• Homphones: idle, idyl(l) (US pronunciation)

Noun

idol (plural idols)

1. A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

     Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

   • 1911 The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God, J. Milton Hayes:

     There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu, There's a little marble cross below the town; There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew, And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

2. A cultural icon, or especially popular person.
3. (Japan) Young manufactured performers (especially female) who aim to become popular via the formation of musical groups and be a general part of the entertainment industry.
   • The dark side of Asia’s pop music industry - BBC News

     They are known as "idols" and their job is "to sell dreams". For decades, the young pop stars of Japan and South Korea have been the envy of teenagers.

Anagrams

• Lodi, OLDI, diol, lido, loid, olid

Noun

idol n (singular definite idolet, plural indefinite idoler)

1. idol

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈi.dɔl/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

idol m pers

1. idol (cultural icon)

Etymology

From Greek είδωλο (eídolo), partially through the intermediate of Slavic, Old Church Slavonic idolŭ. Compare Aromanian idul, Serbo-Croatian idol.

Noun

idol m (plural idoli)

1. idol
2. pagan divinity
3. (popular) demon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǐdoːl/
• Hyphenation: i‧dol

Noun

ìdōl m (Cyrillic spelling ѝдо̄л)

1. idol