[1] : WordNet (r) 2.0

emoticon
     n : a representation of a facial expression as a smile or
         frown created by typing a sequence of characters in
         sending email; ":- and :- are emoticons"

[2] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

emoticon /ee-moh'ti-kon/ n. common an ascii glyph used to indicate an
   emotional state in email or news. although originally intended mostly as
   jokes, emoticons or some other explicit humor indication are virtually
   required under certain circumstances in high-volume text-only
   communication forums such as usenet; the lack of verbal and visual cues
   can otherwise cause what were intended to be humorous, sarcastic,
   ironic, or otherwise non-100-serious comments to be badly
   misinterpreted not always even by newbies, resulting in arguments
   and flame wars.

   hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are in common
   use. these include:

 :-
       `smiley face' for humor, laughter, friendliness,
       occasionally sarcasm
  
 :-
       `frowney face' for sadness, anger, or upset
  
 ;-
       `half-smiley' ha ha only serious; also known as
       `semi-smiley' or `winkey face'.
  
 :-/
       `wry face'
  
   these may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head sideways,
   to the left.

   the first two listed are by far the most frequently encountered.
   hyphenless forms of them are common on compuserve, genie, and bix; see
   also bixie. on usenet, `smiley' is often used as a generic term
   synonymous with emoticon, as well as specifically for the happy-face
   emoticon.

   it was long thought that the emoticon was invented by one scott
   fahlman on the cmu bboard systems sometime between early 1981 and
   mid-1982. he later wrote: "i wish i had saved the original post, or at
   least recorded the date for posterity, but i had no idea that i was
   starting something that would soon pollute all the world's communication
   channels." gls confirms that he remembers this original posting.

   there is a rival claim by one kevinmckenzie, who seems to have
   proposed the smiley on the msggroup mailing list, april 12 1979. it
   seems likely these two inventions were independent.

   note for the newbie: overuse of the smiley is a mark of loserhood
   more than one per paragraph is a fairly sure sign that you've gone over
   the line.


see also:
newbie flame war ha ha only serious bixie usenet emoticon 
bboard 

[3] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

emoticon
     
        /ee-moh'ti-kon/ an ascii glyph used to indicate an
        emotional state in electronic mail or news.  although
        originally intended mostly as jokes, emoticons or some other
        explicit humour indication are virtually required under
        certain circumstances in high-volume text-only communication
        forums such as usenet; the lack of verbal and visual cues
        can otherwise cause what were intended to be humorous,
        sarcastic, ironic, or otherwise non-100-serious comments to
        be badly misinterpreted not always even by newbies,
        resulting in arguments and flame wars.
     
        hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are
        in common use.  these include:
     
         :-	"smiley face" for humour, laughter,
        	friendliness, occasionally sarcasm
     
         :-	"frowney face" for sadness, anger, or upset
     
         ;-	"half-smiley" ha ha only serious; also
        	known as "semi-smiley" or "winkey face".
     
         :-/	"wry face"
     
        these may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head
        sideways, to the left.  the first two are by far the most
        frequently encountered.  hyphenless forms of them are common
        on compuserve, genie, and bix; see also bixie.  on
        usenet, "smiley" is often used as a generic term synonymous
        with emoticon, as well as specifically for the happy-face
        emoticon.
     
        it appears that the emoticon was invented by one scott fahlman
        on the cmu bboard systems around 1980.  he later wrote: "i
        wish i had saved the original post, or at least recorded the
        date for posterity, but i had no idea that i was starting
        something that would soon pollute all the world's
        communication channels."  gls confirms that he remembers
        this original posting.
     
        as with exclamation marks, overuse of the smiley is a mark of
        loserhood  more than one per paragraph is a fairly sure sign
        that you've gone over the line.
     
        jargon file
     
        1994-12-02
     
     
see also:
ascii glyph electronic mail news usenet newbie 
flame war compuserve genie bix bixie 
cmu bboard gls jargon file 

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Emoticon, definition of term: Emoticon
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