'icon-free' is a modern compound formed from 'icon' + 'free'. 'icon' originates from Greek via Latin and Old French: Greek 'eikōn' (εἰκών) meaning 'image, likeness'; 'free' originates from Old English 'frēo' meaning 'not in bondage, exempt'.

'icon' entered English from Greek 'eikōn' through Latin and Old French; 'free' comes from Old English 'frēo'. The compound 'icon-free' is a recent English formation (20th–21st century), created in technology and design contexts by analogy with compounds like 'sugar-free' and 'battery-free'.

Individually, 'icon' originally meant 'image' and 'free' originally meant 'not bound'; together as 'icon-free' the meaning shifted to the modern concise sense 'without icons' used especially in UI/design vocabulary.