'icon-worshipping' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the noun 'icon' (from Greek 'eikōn', meaning 'image') and the verb 'worship' (from Old English 'weorþscipe', where 'weorþ' meant 'worthy' and '-scipe' meant 'state or condition').

'icon' came into English via Medieval/Latin and Old French forms from Greek 'eikōn' and became Middle English 'ikon'/'icon'; 'worship' evolved from Old English 'weorþscipe' to Middle English 'worship' and then to modern English 'worship'. The compound 'icon-worship' and its verbal/adjectival forms developed in Modern English to describe veneration of images.

Initially, 'icon' simply meant 'image' and 'worship' meant 'worthiness' or 'honor'; combined, the compound came to mean specifically the veneration or honoring of religious images, a specialized religious practice.