[ahy-kon-uh-klast]

i·con·u·clast
[ahy-kon-uh-klast]
–noun
...1.
a breaker or destroyer of images, esp. those set up forreligious veneration.
2.
a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditionalinstitutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.
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Origin:
1590–1600; < ML īconoclastēs < MGk eikonoklástēs, equiv. to Gkeikono- icono- + -klastēs breaker, equiv. to klas- (var. s. of klân to break) + -tēs agent n. suffix

—Related forms
i·con·o·clas·tic, adjective
i·con·o·clas·ti·cal·ly, adverb
non·i·con·o·clas·tic, adjective
non·i·con·o·clas·ti·cal·ly, adverb
un·i·con·o·clas·tic, adjective
un·i·con·o·clas·ti·cal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms
2. nonconformist, rebel, dissenter, radical.

Word Origin & History

iconoclast
"breaker or destroyer of images," 1596, from Fr. iconoclaste, fromM.L. iconoclastes, from Late Gk. eikonoklastes, from eikon (gen.eikonos ) "image" + klastes "breaker," from klas- pt. stem of klan "to break." Originally those in the Eastern Church in 8c. and 9c.whose mobs of followers destroyed icons and other religious objectson the grounds that they were idols.