emoticon (English)

Where does "emoticon" come from?

The word 'emoticon' is a modern blend of 'emotion' and 'icon,' specifically coined for the digital age to represent feelings in text. While 'emotion' traces its roots back to the Latin 'emovere,' meaning to move or stir up, 'icon' descends from the Ancient Greek 'eikon,' referring to a likeness or image. Together, these terms highlight how we combine ancient concepts of movement and visual representation to communicate nuance in our electronic messages.

Full etymology tree

• emoticon (English), 'A graphical representation of a particular emotion of the writer, used especially in SMS, email, or other electronic communication.'
  • blend emotion (English), 'Movement; agitation.'
    • borrowed émotion (Middle French)
      • derived émouvoir (Old French)
        • derived ēmōtus (Latin), 'removed'
          • derived ēmoveō (Latin), 'to move out or away, remove; dislodge; expel'
            • affix ē- (Latin), 'alternative form of ex- (combining with b-, d-, g-, j-, l-, m-, n-, r-, and v-initial words)'
            • affix moveō (Latin), 'to move, stir, set in motion'
              • inherited *moweō (Proto-Italic), 'to move'
                • inherited *m(y)ewh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to move'
  • blend icon (English), 'An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an object of religious devotion.'
    • inherited īcōn (Latin), 'image, artistic representation of a thing'
      • inherited εἰκών (eikṓn) (Ancient Greek), 'figure, image, likeness, portrait'
        • inherited *weyk- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sift, separate'

Direct ancestors

• m(y)ewh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
• emotion (English)
• icon (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris