favicon

F4A1V4I1C3O1N1
UK/ˈfævɪkɒn/

noun

An icon associated with a particular website, and typically displayed in the address bar of a browser viewing the site.

UncommonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounfavicon (plural favicons)

plural favicons

  1. computingAn icon associated with a particular website, and typically displayed in the address bar of a browser viewing the site.

    The only way to restore a favicon is to delete the link from the Favorites folder and recreate it.

    2000, PC Magazine, volume 19, numbers 19-20, page 127
    5 more examples

    A free online favicon editor allows advanced webmasters to create their own favicons and use them during website development or maintenance.

    2002, Ejub Kajan, Information technology encyclopedia and acronyms, page 195

    You, however, can do better by creating your own customized favicon for your Web site — just the thing you need to add that professional touch.

    2006, Richard Wagner, Web Design Before & After Makeovers, page 206

    Make sure to create a favicon. Since the browser will request this file anyway, there's no reason to return a 404 Page Not Found error, especially if your 404 handler consumes a database connection or other expensive resources.

    2009, Steve Souders, Even Faster Web Sites, page 158

    Favicons are those cute little icons that appear on your browser's address bar when you visit some sites.

    2009, Manny Hernandez, Ning for Dummies, page 312

    You can stick with the favicon provided by your Web host. Do not worry about pronouncing favicon correctly. There is no definitive pronunciation.

    2010, Janet Majure, Teach Yourself Visually WordPress, page 132

Origin

From the original filename used by Internet Explorer, "favicon.ico", a blend of favorites (“browser bookmarks”) + icon.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 最愛圖示 /最爱图示, 網頁圖示 /网页图示
  • 最愛圖示 /最爱图示 (zuì'àitúshì)icon for website
  • 網頁圖示 /网页图示 (wǎngyètúshì)icon for website
Czech favicon
  • faviconicon for website
Esperanto favorikono
  • favorikonoicon for website
Finnish favicon, sivustokuvake
  • faviconicon for website
  • sivustokuvakeicon for website
French favicon, favicône
  • faviconicon for website
  • favicôneicon for website
German Favicon
  • Faviconicon for website
Japanese ファビコン
  • ファビコン (fabikon)icon for website
Korean 파비콘, 패비콘
  • 파비콘 (pabikon)icon for website
  • 패비콘 (paebikon)icon for website
Persian تارنماک
  • تارنماکicon for website
Portuguese favicon
  • faviconicon for website
Slovak favicon, favikon
  • faviconicon for website
  • favikonicon for website
  • favikonaicon for website
Spanish favicono
  • faviconoicon for website
Swedish favicon, adressikon
  • faviconicon for website
  • adressikonicon for website
Cite this entry
APA

favicon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/favicon

MLA

“favicon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/favicon. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “favicon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/favicon.

Source: favicon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.