hieroglyphic
/ˌhaɪɹəˈɡlɪfɪk/ noun, adjective
Forms hieroglyphics hieroglyphick
- noun (chiefly in the plural) A writing system of ancient Egypt, Minoans, Maya and other civilizations, using pictorial symbols to represent individual sounds, often as a rebus.
- noun Any symbol used in this system; a hieroglyph.
- noun (by extension) Undecipherable handwriting or secret symbol.
- adjective Of, relating to, or written with such a system of symbols. “the hieroglyphic writing of ancient Egypt”
- adjective Difficult to decipher.
Synonyms
Etymology
First coined 1726, from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός (hierogluphikós), from ἱερογλυφέω (hierogluphéō, “to represent hieroglyphically”), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy”) + γλύφω (glúphō, “to carve, to engrave, to cut out”). By surface analysis, hiero- + glyphic.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A sacred character; a character in picture writing, as of the ancient Egyptians, Mexicans, etc. Specifically, in the plural, the picture writing of the ancient Egyptian priests. It is made up of three, or, as some say, four classes of characters: first, the hieroglyphic proper, or figurative, in which the representation of the object conveys the idea of the object itself; second, the ideographic, consisting of symbols representing ideas, not sounds, as an ostrich feather is a symbol of truth; third, the phonetic, consisting of symbols employed as syllables of a word, or as letters of the alpha
- noun Any character or figure which has, or is supposed to have, a hidden or mysterious significance; hence, any unintelligible or illegible character or mark. [Colloq.]
- adjective Emblematic; expressive of some meaning by characters, pictures, or figures; as, hieroglyphic writing; a hieroglyphic obelisk.
- adjective Resembling hieroglyphics; not decipherable. "An hieroglyphical scrawl." Sir W. Scott.
Etymology [Cf. F. hiéroglyphe. See Hieroglyphic, a.]
Etymology [L. hieroglyphicus, Gr. hiéroglyphique.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hieroglyphic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details