idol

• idoll (obsolete)

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 eidolon, idolum, and idea.

• enPR: īʹd(ə)l, IPA^(key): /ˈaɪd(ə)l/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪdəl
• Homophones: idle, idyl(l) (US pronunciation)

idol (plural idols)

1. A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
   • 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 222716698:

     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. (Asia, originally Japan) Popular entertainer; usually young, captivating, attractive; and often female, with an image of being close to fans.
   • '26 January 2016, Mariko Oi, 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.

4. (obsolete) An eidolon or phantom; something misleading or elusive.

• (a worshipped representation): afgod (obsolete)
• (a celebrated person): icon, star, superstar

• idolatry
• idolise, idolize

• → Japanese: アイドル
  • → Chinese: 愛抖露／爱抖露
  • → Chinese: 愛豆／爱豆

• Lodi, OLDI, diol, lido, loid, olid

• Rhymes: -oːl

idol n (singular definite idolet, plural indefinite idoler)

1. idol

idol

1. Alternative form of ydole

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈi.dɔl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -idɔl
• Syllabification: i‧dol

idol m pers (feminine idolka)

1. idol (cultural icon, especially popular person)

idol m inan

1. idol (representation of anything revered)

   Synonyms: bożek, bałwan

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

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

idol m (plural idoli)

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

• (demon): demon, drac, diavol, aghiuță, naiba

• idolatru
• idolatrie

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

ìdōl m (Cyrillic spelling ѝдо̄л)

1. idol

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

• idoldyrkan (“celebrity worship”)

• idol in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• idol in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• idol in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

From English idol.

idol m (plural idolau or idoliaid or idolon)

1. idol

• 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