idol

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(īd'l) pronunciation
n.
    1. An image used as an object of worship.
    2. A false god.
  1. One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.
  2. Something visible but without substance.

[Middle English, from Old French idole, from Late Latin īdōlum, from Greek eidōlon, phantom, idol, from eidos, form.]



Image or statue of a deity used as an object of worship. In Judaism, the making of any representation of God is strictly forbidden, as is the fashioning of any graven image. Islam has also adhered to this rule. In Christianity, there has been a general acceptance of pictorial or sculpted images of Jesus and the saints and, on occasion, God, and Christianity has thus always faced the danger that such representations could be venerated superstitiously as idols. In Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism images of gods and saints are common; they are often the object of veneration. In Hinduism, a statue may be treated as a god as an act of devotion but loses its special status when the act of devotion is finished ( Durga-puja, puja).

For more information on idol, visit Britannica.com.

idol, an object, frequently an image, which is worshiped as a deity. Idols are usually found in human or animal form and may be treated as though alive; they are fed, bathed, anointed, crowned, and sometimes even provided with a consort. Christians and Jews extend the term to include any deity other than their own; theologically, however, idol worship is generally applied to the adoration of what is seen and tangible as opposed to the worship of an unseen spiritual being.


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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: An object that is worshiped as a god. Or a person who is greatly loved or admired.

pronunciation Proof is the idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself. — Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882-1944), British astronomer and physicist, director of Cambridge observatory from North Rose Mathematical Maxims and Minims, Raleigh, N.C.: Rome Press Inc., 1988.

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as in: religious statue
sign description: The V hand starts at the temple and then goes down to the palm of the hand in the bent position.




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Quotes:

"Rapine, avarice, expense, This is idolatry; and these we adore; Plain living and high thinking are no more." - William Wordsworth

"Whatever a man seeks, honors, or exalts more than God, this is the god of his idolatry." - William B. Ullathorne

"When men have gone so far as to talk as though their idols have come to life, it is time that someone broke them." - Richard H. Tawney

"The savage bows down to idols of wood and stone: the civilized man to idols of flesh and blood." - George Bernard Shaw

"'Tis mad idolatry To make the service greater than the god." - William Shakespeare

"Idolatry is in a man's own thought, not in the opinion of another." - John Selden

See more famous quotes about Idols

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'idol'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to idol, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Idol.

An idol is an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed or any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.[1]

More specific terms include:

Worship
  • Cult image, a religion-neutral term for a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
  • Idolatry, a term used in monotheism for the worship of cult images, termed idols, perhaps tending towards iconoclasm, the destruction of images
  • Murti, a point of focus for devotion or meditation in Hindu and Buddhist religion (not always man-made)
Entertainment
Other

See also

References

  1. ^ Derived from definition in Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idol (Retrieved 2010-01-03)

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - idol, afgudsbillede, afgud

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    et faldent idol, en falmet stjerne

Nederlands (Dutch)
idool, afgod, afgodsbeeld

Français (French)
n. - idole

idioms:

  • fallen idol    une idole déchue

Deutsch (German)
n. - Idol, Götze, Götzenbild

idioms:

  • fallen idol    gestürztes Idol

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (θρησκ.) είδωλο, (μτφ.) ίνδαλμα

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    εκπεσών είδωλο

Italiano (Italian)
idolo, feticcio

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    un idolo decaduto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ídolo (m)

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    um ídolo caído do pedestal

Русский (Russian)
идол, кумир

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    поверженный идол

Español (Spanish)
n. - ídolo, tótem

idioms:

  • fallen idol    un ídolo caído, personaje público que decepciona a sus seguidores

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - idol, avgud, fantom, fördom

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
偶像, 幻象, 崇拜物

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    过气的偶像

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 偶像, 幻象, 崇拜物

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    過氣的偶像

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 우상, 실체가 없는 모습, 선입적 오류

idioms:

  • a fallen idol    타락한 우상

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 偶像, 偶像神, 邪神, 謬見

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) وثن, المعبود‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אליל, פסל, אדם נערץ‬


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