hieroglyphic
Noun · AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Noun (2)hieroglyphics
- writing that resembles hieroglyphics (usually by being illegible)Synonyms: hieroglyphType of writing
- a writing system using picture symbols; used in ancient EgyptSynonyms: hieroglyphType of orthography, writing systemKinds hieratic, hieratic script
Adjective (2)
- resembling hieroglyphic writingSynonyms: hieroglyphicalRelating to hieroglyph
- written in or belonging to a writing system using pictorial symbolsSynonyms: hieroglyphicalRelating to hieroglyph
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: Cf. F. hiéroglyphe. See Hieroglyphic, adjective
1. A sacred character; a character used 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 alphabet, having a certain sound, as a hawk represented the vowel a.
2. Any character or figure which has, or is supposed to have, a hidden or mysterious significance; hence, any unintelligible or illegible character or mark. colloquial
Origin: L. hieroglyphicus, Gr. …; ἱερός sacred + γλύφειν to carve: cf. F. hiéroglyphique.
1. Emblematic; expressive of some meaning by characters, pictures, or figures; as, hieroglyphic writing; a hieroglyphic obelisk.
Pages no better than blanks to common minds, to his, hieroglyphical of wisest secrets.— John Wilson
2. Resembling hieroglyphics; not decipherable. “An hieroglyphical scrawl.” Sir Walter Scott
3. of or pertaining to hieroglyphs. [wns=1]
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: WordNet 1.5