| pictogram |
| Definition -
A symbol that looks like the thing it represents. For example, using a drawing of a dog to represent the concept dog. Note: This is in contrast to logograms, which are symbols that don't resemble the thing they represent. For example, using $ to represent the dollar. |
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Example -  Pictograms from 1510 showing the story of the arrival of missionaries in Hispaniola. |
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Etymology - The word derives from the Latin pictus, painted + gram, what is written. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1910: "The primitive characters or ‘pictograms’ … afford unmistakable evidence as to the ideas which existed long anterior to the time of Confucius." (Encycl. Relig. & Ethics III. 549/2 ) |
