Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Origin: emotion + icon

emoticon

 noun
     
e‧mo‧ti‧con [countable]
a special sign that is used to show an emotion in email and on the Internet, often by making a picture. For example, the emoticon :-) looks like a smiling face and means that you have made a joke
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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