iconic

Etymology

From Late Latin īconicus, equivalent to icon + -ic.

adj

1. Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon. [from 17th c.]
2. Distinctive, characteristic, indicative of identity.
   an iconic move in martial arts
3. (figurative) Famously and distinctively representative of its type.
   For younger musicians, Coltrane’s death became one of those iconic events that stays vividly in the mind. 1983, J. K. Chambers, Milestones, New York: Beech Tree Books, page 111
   She angrily turned, giving me my favorite view, that iconic view of a woman from the rear. 1986, John Updike, Roger's Version, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, page 306
   In time The Simpsons would, indeed, resort to spoofing such decidedly non-spooktacular fare like E.T and Mr. And Mrs. Smith (both in “Treehouse Of Horror XVIII”) but in 1992 the field was wide-open and the show could cherry-pick the most iconic and beloved fright fare of all time. April 29, 2012, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
   "We did look at building a new bridge, but this is an iconic structure," says Network Rail Project Manager Michael Bryan. August 12 2020, Andrew Mourant, “The tide is turning for a Victorian wonder”, in Rail, page 50
4. (linguistics, semiotics) Representing something; symbolic.
   an iconic gesture in sign language
   A portrait of a person is to a considerable extent iconic, but is not completely so since the painted canvas does not have the texture of the skin, or the capacities for speech and motion, […] 1955 [1946], Charles William Morris, Signs, Language, and Behavior, G. Braziller, page 23