被膜拜的神像
這是最貼近字源的用法，也是核心畫面本身：一尊被當成神來祭拜的雕像或畫像。
worshipped statue · noun · C1
A picture or statue that people treat as a god and pray to.
神像
核心畫面
One way to picture it: a made image standing in for something greater than itself — a figure people set up, look at, and pour their devotion into. The figure is not the god; it is the visible shape the devotion gets attached to.
一個被立起來、供人仰望的「像」。它本身只是木頭、石頭或一張臉，但人們把心裡的崇拜投射上去，於是它就成了那份崇拜看得見…更多收起
一個被立起來、供人仰望的「像」。它本身只是木頭、石頭或一張臉，但人們把心裡的崇拜投射上去，於是它就成了那份崇拜看得見的形狀。idol 這個字從希臘文 eídōlon 來，原意接近「影像、形象」——重點一直在「被看的那個形象」，以及人對這個形象付出的感情，而不是形象本身有多神聖。From the word’s history
Greek eídōlon meant 'image, phantom, likeness' (from eîdos 'form, shape', root *weyd- 'to see'); it passed through Latin īdōlum and Old French idole. The modern word still carries that sense of a visible form that stands in for something else.
希臘文 eídōlon 原意是「影像、幻影、形似之物」，來自 eîdos（形狀、外形），再往上是印歐詞根 *weyd-（看）。經拉丁文 īdōlum、古法文 idole 進入英文。所以 idol 骨子裡是「一個被看見的形象」——今天不論是神壇上的神像，還是舞台上的明星，都還踩在這個「被眾人凝視的形象」上。
Wiktionary etymology tree supplied in the payload (PIE *weyd- > Ancient Greek eîdos > eídōlon > Latin īdōlum > Old French idole)
Two branches
被崇拜的人
神壇上的像換成了活人：明星、球員、心中的榜樣站上了那個被眾人仰望的位置，崇拜的動作沒變，只是對象從雕像變成了人。
greatly admired person · noun · C1
Someone or something that you love or admire very much, such as a singer, a sports player, or a person you look up to.
偶像
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
idolnoun/ˈaɪ.dl̩/
- 1
A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
- 20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship deuils, and idoles of golde, and siluer, and brasse, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor heare, nor walke: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
- Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
- 2
A cultural icon, or especially popular person.
- 3
A popular entertainer, usually young, captivating and attractive, and often female, with an image of being close to fans.
- Tom Cruise is his idol.
- Sachin Tendulkar is Rohan's idol.
- 4
obsoleteAn eidolon or phantom; a misleading or elusive image or representation.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。