ideogram

American  

[id-ee-uh-gram, ahy-dee-] / ˈɪd i əˌgræm, ˈaɪ di- /

noun

1. Linguistics. a symbol that represents an idea or object directly rather than a particular word or speech sound, such as an arrow symbol to represent direction.

2. a symbol that substitutes for a word or phrase, such as 7, =, or &; a logogram.

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ideogram British  

/ ˈɪdɪəʊˌɡrɑːf, -ˌɡræf, ˈɪdɪəʊˌɡræm /

noun

1. a sign or symbol, used in such writing systems as those of China or Japan, that directly represents a concept, idea, or thing rather than a word or set of words for it

2. any graphic sign or symbol, such as %, @, &, etc

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Etymology

Origin of ideogram

First recorded in 1830–40; ideo- + -gram ¹