Idol

(i'dol.) [Gr. eidolon, an image, and latreia, adoration.] A representation of some principle or being to whom worship is paid. The act of worshipping such an object as a divinity is called idolatry. An idol is intended to convey through the external senses a more vivid notion to the mind of the object adored, and thus to be simply a medium-as the Israeli tes meant to honor Jehovah by means of their calf-like image (Exod. xxxii. 5). [s. 476]