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Definition of Hieroglyphic
1. Noun. Writing that resembles hieroglyphics (usually by being illegible).
2. Adjective. Resembling hieroglyphic writing.
3. Noun. A writing system using picture symbols; used in ancient Egypt.
Generic synonyms: Orthography, Writing System
Specialized synonyms: Hieratic, Hieratic Script
Derivative terms: Hieroglyphical
4. Adjective. Written in or belonging to a writing system using pictorial symbols.
Definition of Hieroglyphic
1. a. Emblematic; expressive of some meaning by characters, pictures, or figures; as, hieroglyphic writing; a hieroglyphic obelisk.
Definition of Hieroglyphic
1. Noun. (chiefly in the plural) a writing system of ancient Egypt, Maya and other civilizations, using pictorial symbols to represent individual sounds as a rebus ¹
2. Noun. any symbol used in this system; a hieroglyph ¹
3. Noun. (context: by extension) undecipherable handwriting or secret symbol ¹
4. Adjective. of, relating to, or written with this system of symbols ¹
5. Adjective. difficult to decipher ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Hieroglyphic
1. [n -S]
Medical Definition of Hieroglyphic
1. 1. 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 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. Origin: Cf. F. Hieroglyphe. See Hieroglyphic. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Hieroglyphic
Literary usage of Hieroglyphic
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Gentleman's Magazine (1822)
"The hieroglyphic text of tire Rosetta inscription might alone have decided this
curious question, and have given us also a nearly complete alphabet of ..."
2. A History of the Art of Writing by William Albert Mason (1920)
"CHAPTER VII hieroglyphic WRITING OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS OF all the systems of
... Nothing in the way of writing ever has equaled the Egyptian hieroglyphic ..."
3. The Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated by William Warburton (1837)
"aquatic: for besides the simpler method, in hieroglyphic writing, of expressing
their hero-gods by an entire plant or animal, there were two others which ..."
4. The Mummy: Chapters on Egyptian Funereal Archaeology by Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge (1894)
"He correctly identified the names of Ptolemy and Berenice, although in each case
he attributed Young's wrong values to some of the hieroglyphic characters ..."
5. The Home and Foreign Review (1863)
"The first, and of course most difficult, steps in learning to read the hieratic
character will be greatly facilitated by comparing the hieroglyphic text of ..."
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