Meanings
plural graphicons
- InternetAny of various kinds of graphical icon used on social media platforms.
In our study, we analyse a case in which the participants of a video-mediated workshop draw on images or animated GIFs (i.e. graphicons) in managing emotion discourse.
2023, Elina Salomaa and Esa Lehtinen, “Graphicons as a vehicle for eliciting negative emotions in multimedial workplace interaction”, in Conversation Analytic Perspectives to Digital Interaction: Practices, Resources, and Affordances, page 32 more examples
Emoji are a subcategory of what Herring and Dainas (2017) classify as ‘graphicons’ (graphical icons) – a classification of graphical features found on social media platforms that also include emoticons, stickers, graphics interchange formats (GIFs), images and videos.
2023 January 12, Lorenzo Logi and Michele Zappavigna, “A social semiotic perspective on emoji: How emoji and language interact to make meaning in digital messages”, in New Media & Society, page 1Since its introduction in the early 1970s, textual computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been enriched by graphical icons (henceforth graphicons) that express emotion and attitude.
2020 March 6, Artie Konrad, Susan C Herring, and David Choi, “Sticker and Emoji Use in Facebook Messenger: Implications for Graphicon Change”, in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, page 1
Origin
Cite this entry
graphicon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graphicon
“graphicon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graphicon. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “graphicon,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graphicon.
Source: graphicon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.