emoji etymology

Emoji is a digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication, such as on social media, in text messages, or in emails. Emojis originated in Japan in the late 1990s and have since become a global phenomenon.

Etymology

The word "emoji" is derived from two Japanese words: "e" (絵), which means "picture", and "moji" (文字), which means "character". The term was first used in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, an employee of the Japanese telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo, who was the lead developer of the first set of emojis.

Meaning and Origin

The meanings of emojis can vary depending on the specific emoji and the context in which it is used. However, there are some general categories of emojis, including:

• Faces: Emojis that represent human faces, such as 😀 (smiling face with open mouth), 😞 (disappointed face), and 💀 (skull).
• Nature: Emojis that represent plants, animals, and natural phenomena, such as 🌲 (evergreen tree), 🐶 (dog), and ☔ (umbrella with rain drops).
• Objects: Emojis that represent common objects, such as 💻 (laptop computer), 📞 (telephone), and 🏀 (basketball).
• Symbols: Emojis that represent abstract concepts, such as ❤ (heart), 💣 (bomb), and ♻️ (recycling symbol).
• Flags: Emojis that represent the flags of different countries, such as 🇺🇸 (United States), 🇯🇵 (Japan), and 🇬🇧 (United Kingdom).

Many emojis were originally inspired by Japanese culture, and some still retain their original meanings. For example, the emoji 🙇 (person bowing deeply) is commonly used in Japan to express apology or respect, while the emoji 👹 (ogre) is often used to represent evil or mischief.

Global Spread

Emojis gained popularity outside of Japan in the early 2000s when they were included in Unicode, the universal character encoding standard. This made it possible for emojis to be used on smartphones and other devices around the world. In 2011, Apple included emojis in its iOS operating system, which further boosted their popularity.

Today, emojis are used by billions of people worldwide to communicate in a fun and expressive way. They have become an essential part of digital communication, and their use is expected to continue to grow in the future.

emoji relate terms

• emoticon

  Etymology The term emoticon is a portmanteau of the words emotion and icon It was

• emotion

  Etymology The word emotion derives from the Latin word emovere which means to move

• icon

  Etymology The word icon comes from the Greek word εἰκών eikōn which means

• kanji

  Etymology Kanji is a system of writing used in Japanese that was originally derived from

• carpenter

  Etymology The word carpenter comes from the Old French word carpentier which in turn

• quorum

  Etymology Latin quōrum Ancient Greek khōrós army that divides the enemy s ranks

• divination

  Etymology The word divination originates from the Latin word divinatio which is deri

• friend

  Etymology The word friend comes from the Old English word freond which meant compa

• invest

  Etymology The word invest is derived from the Latin word investis which means to c

• target

  Etymology Target comes from the Middle English word targe which in turn derives fro

• chow

  Etymology The word chow has several different etymologies From the Chinese word cha

• busy

  Etymology Middle English busye from Anglo Norman French busye ultimately from Old Fr

• deputy

  Etymology Old French depute Latin deputāre to appoint assign de away put