Emoticon

An emoticon (ee-MOHT-i-kahn), (/ᵻˈmoʊtᵻkɒn/, or /iˈmoʊtᵻkɒn/) is a pictorial representation of a facial expression using punctuation marks, numbers and letters, usually written to express a person's feelings or mood.

The word is a portmanteau of emotion and icon, and is an example of metacommunication, serving some of the same purpose as body language or prosody.