idol

The definition of an idol is a false god or an object that is adored or worshipped.

(noun)

An example of an idol is a rock that people pray to.

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See idol in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. an image of a god, used as an object or instrument of worship
  2. in monotheistic belief, any heathen deity
  3. any object of ardent or excessive devotion or admiration
  4. a false notion or idea that causes errors in thinking or reasoning
  5. Archaic anything that has no substance but can be seen, as an image in a mirror
  6. Obsolete
    1. any image or effigy
    2. an impostor

Origin: ME idole < OFr < L idolum, an image, form, specter, apparition (in LL(Ec), idol) < Gr eidōlon, an image, phantom (in LGr(Ec), idol) < eidos, form: see -oid

See idol in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. a. An image used as an object of worship.
    b. A false god.
  2. One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.
  3. Something visible but without substance.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French idole

Origin: , from Late Latin īdōlum

Origin: , from Greek eidōlon, phantom, idol

Origin: , from eidos, form; see weid- in Indo-European roots

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