Editing Pictogram (section)

{{Short description|Ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object}}
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[[File:National Park Service sample pictographs.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sample [[National Park Service]] pictograms]]
A '''pictogram''' (also '''pictogramme''', '''pictograph''', or simply '''picto'''<ref>Gove, Philip Babcock. (1993). ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged''. Merriam-Webster Inc. {{ISBN|0-87779-201-1}}.</ref>) is a graphical [[symbol]] that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a [[writing system]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goody|first=Jack|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14242868|title=The interface between the written and the oral|date=1987|isbn=0-521-33268-0|location=Cambridge|page=4|oclc=14242868}}</ref> which uses pictograms. Some pictograms, such as [[GHS hazard pictograms|hazard pictograms]], may be elements of [[formal languages]].

In the field of [[prehistoric art]], the term "pictograph" has a different definition, and specifically refers to art painted on rock surfaces. Pictographs are contrasted with [[petroglyph]]s, which are carved or incised.

Small pictograms displayed on a [[computer screen]] in order to help the user navigate are called ''[[Icon (computing)|icons]]''.