emoji

e·mo·ji

 (ē-mō′jē)

n. pl. emoji also e·mo·jis

1. A standardized ideogrammatic icon, as of a face or a heart, used especially in electronic messages or on webpages.

2. Such icons considered collectively.

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[Japanese : e, picture (from Old Japanese we, from Early Middle Chinese γwəj^h) + moji, writing (from Old Japanese monji, moji, from Early Middle Chinese mun dzı̷^h (also the source of Mandarin wénzì) mun, mark, writing (from Old Chinese mə, soot + -n, n. suffix, since Chinese ink is traditionally made from soot) + dzı̷^h, symbol, character; see kanji).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.