the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The discussion or description of portraiture or of representative images. Cf. iconography.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The science or art of representation by effigies or pictures.
n. A description of statues, pictures, engravings, etc.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. the branch of art history that studies visual images and their symbolic meaning (especially in social or political terms)
Word Usage
"Erwin Panofsky, with whose name iconology has been connected ever since, not only developed its theoretical foundations, but contributed by his practi - cal work in art history to the main triumph of iconol - ogy after the Second World War."