idol

Alternative forms

• idoll (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English ydole, from Old French idole, from Latin idolum, from Ancient Greek εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image, idol”), from εἶδος (eîdos, “form”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéydos (“seeing, image”), from *weyd- (“to see”). Doublet of aidoru, eidolon, and idolum and related to idea.

Pronunciation

• enPR: īʹd(ə)l
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ.dəl/, [ˈaɪ.dl̩]

    • Audio (Southern England):

      (file)

  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ.dəl/, [ˈaɪ.ɾl̩]

    • Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

      (file)

  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɪ.dəl/, [ˈɑɪ.ɾl̩]
• Rhymes: -aɪdəl
• Homophones: 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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 9:20–21:

     20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship deuils, and idoles of golde, and siluer, and brasse, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor heare, nor walke:
     21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

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

     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. (Asia, originally Japan) A popular entertainer, usually young, captivating and attractive, and often female, with an image of being close to fans.
   • [2016 January 26, Mariko Oi, “The dark side of Asia’s pop music industry”, in 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.]

4. (obsolete) An eidolon or phantom; a misleading or elusive image or representation.

Anagrams

• Lodi, OLDI, diol, lido, loid, olid

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -oːl

Noun

idol n (singular definite idolet, plural indefinite idoler)

1. idol

Noun

idol

1. Alternative form of ydole

Etymology

Borrowed from French idole, from Latin īdōlum, from Ancient Greek εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image; idol”), from εἶδος (eîdos, “form”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈi.dɔl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -idɔl
• Syllabification: i‧dol

Noun

idol m pers (female equivalent idolka)

1. idol (cultural icon, especially popular person)

Noun

idol m inan

1. idol (representation of anything revered)

   Synonyms: bożek, bałwan

Further reading

• idol in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• idol in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Etymology

From Ancient Greek είδωλον (eídōlon), partially through the intermediate of Old Church Slavonic идолъ (idolŭ). Compare Aromanian idul, Serbo-Croatian idol.

Noun

idol m (plural idoli)

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

   Synonyms: demon, drac, diavol, aghiuță, naiba

Pronunciation

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

Noun

ìdōl m (Cyrillic spelling ѝдо̄л)

1. idol

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

idol c

1. someone greatly admired (by someone), or the person someone admires the most; an idol

   Mark Knopfler är min idol ― Mark Knopfler is my idol

2. (rare, technical) a representation of a deity; an idol

   Synonym: avgud

Etymology

From English idol.

Noun

idol m (plural idolau or idoliaid or idolon)

1. idol

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “idol”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies