Icon vs. Meme — What's the Difference?

An icon (from the Greek εἰκών eikṓn 'image, resemblance') is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and certain Eastern Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion".

A meme ( MEEM) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme.

A devotional painting of Christ or another holy figure, typically executed on wood and used ceremonially in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.

An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.

A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration

An image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations.

A symbol or graphic representation on a screen of a program, option, or window.

A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

A sign which has a characteristic in common with the thing it signifies, for example the word snarl pronounced in a snarling way.

An image or short video clip, often accompanied by a humorous saying or popular catchphrase, that is transmitted virally, especially on social media.

An image; a representation.

A humorous saying or popular catchphrase that is transmitted virally, especially as a caption for such an image or video clip.

A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated in the Eastern Church.

(originally) Any unit of (originally cultural) information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.

An important and enduring symbol

(Internet) Media, usually humorous, which is copied and circulated online with slight adaptations, such as basic pictures, video templates, etc.

One who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol

(Internet) A specific instance of a meme, such as an image macro or a video, often with humorous superimposed text.

(Computers) A picture on a screen that represents a specific file, directory, window, option, or program.

Something not to be taken seriously; a joke.

An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.

Granny; nana

A type of religious painting portraying a saint or scene from Scripture, often done on wooden panels.

To create and use humorous memes.

(by extension) A person or thing that is the best example of a certain profession or some doing.

To turn into a meme; to use a meme, especially to achieve a goal in real life.

(graphical user interface) A small picture that represents something.

To joke around.

A word, character, or sign whose form reflects and is determined by the referent; onomatopoeic words are necessarily all icons.

A cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one generation to another by nongenetic means (as by imitation);

An image or representation; a portrait or pretended portrait.

A sacred picture representing the Virgin Mary, Christ, a saint, or a martyr, and having the same function as an image of such a person in the Latin Church. The term is used especially for a highly stylized and conventionalized representation of a holy person, rich in symbolism and used in devotional services in many of the eastern Orthodox churches, especially the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.

A symbol, especially a symbol whose form suggests its meaning or the object it represents.

A graphical symbol for a data object whose form suggests the nature or function of the object; especially, such a symbol as viewed on the computer screen.

Any object of uncritical devotion.

An outstanding example of something which has come to represent the class of things to which it belongs; a paragon; used of persons as well as objects.

(computer science) a graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface

A visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface;

A conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church