pictograph

American  

[pik-tuh-graf, -grahf] / ˈpɪk təˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. a pictorial sign or symbol.

2. a record consisting of pictorial symbols, as a prehistoric cave drawing or a graph or chart with symbolic figures representing a certain number of people, cars, factories, etc.

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pictograph British  

/ ˈpɪktəˌɡrɑːf, ˌpɪktəˈɡræfɪk, pɪkˈtɒɡrəfɪ, -ˌɡræf /

noun

1. a picture or symbol standing for a word or group of words, as in written Chinese

2. a chart on which symbols are used to represent values, such as population levels or consumption

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Other Word Forms

• pictographic
  adjective
• pictographically
  adverb
• pictography
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pictograph

1850–55; < Latin pict ( us ) painted ( see picture) + -o- + -graph

Explanation

A pictograph is a picture or image that represents a word or a phrase. A sign with the shape of a dog inside a circle and a slash drawn through it is a pictograph that means "no dogs allowed." Anything that conveys information using just pictures can be called a pictograph. When you click on an icon on your computer, that's a pictograph, and when you text an emoji to your friend, that's another kind of pictograph. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and early Chinese characters are also pictographs, or symbols that represent various words. Pictograph comes from the Latin pictus, "painted," and the Greek graphe, "writing."

Example Sentences

Pictograph Caves outside Billings has been repaired to preserve the rock at the historic site containing ancient Native American rock art.

From Washington Times • Feb. 12, 2022

Pictograph Cave was closed for the rest of the day, said Jarret Kostrba, manager at Pictograph Cave State Park.

From Washington Times • Jul. 15, 2014

Pictograph tablets from Easter Island are, like the rest of the pieces, in excellent condition.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2010

It seemed therefore a most fertile idea when the "Paramount Pictograph" was founded to carry intellectual messages and ambitious discussions into the film houses.

From The Photoplay A Psychological Study by Münsterberg, Hugo

Fragment of pottery with the edges ground off, probably a pottery trowel, from Pictograph Rocks, about sixty miles east of Fort Wingate, N. Mex.

From Illustrated Catalogue Of The Collections Obtained From The Indians Of New Mexico And Arizona In 1879 Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1880-81, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1883, pages 307-428 by Stevenson, James