The word emoji (and the concept it represents) is Japanese in origin, formulated by combining the words e (‘picture’) and moji (‘character’). The word’s adoption into English has possibly been helped by the handy fact that it begins with emo, therefore graphically resembling its precursor the emoticon.

The word emoji (and the concept it represents) is Japanese in origin, formulated by combining the words e (‘picture’) and moji (‘character’). The word’s adoption into English has possibly been helped by the handy fact that it begins with emo, therefore graphically resembling its precursor the emoticon.