cuneiform

[ kyoo-nee-uh-fawrm, kyoo-nee-uh- ]

/ kyuˈni əˌfɔrm, ˈkyu ni ə- /

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See synonyms for cuneiform on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having the form of a wedge; wedge-shaped.

composed of slim triangular or wedge-shaped elements, as the characters used in writing by the ancient Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and others.

written in cuneiform characters: cuneiform inscription.

Anatomy. noting or pertaining to any of various wedge-shaped bones, as of the tarsus.

noun

cuneiform characters or writing.

a cuneiform bone.

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Sometimes cu·ni·form

[kyoo-nuh-fawrm] /ˈkyu nəˌfɔrm/ .

Origin of cuneiform

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin cune(us) “a wedge” + -i- + -form

Words nearby cuneiform

cuneal, cuneate, cuneate fasciculus, cuneate nucleus, cuneatic, cuneiform, cuneiform bone, cuneiform cartilage, cuneiformist, Cunene, Cuneo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cuneiform in a sentence

First, cuneiform tablets refer to a kunga production center in northern Syria.
Readers react to disinfectants made from sawdust, goldfish that drive and more|Science News Staff|March 20, 2022|Science News
Before 1830, when the modern envelope was introduced, letterlocking was pretty much the only way we’d developed to send correspondence since we stopped using cuneiform tablets 4,000 years earlier.
Unfolding history|Jane L. Dambrogio|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The 3,500-year-old cuneiform clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia that was seized by federal authorities in 2019 and officially forfeited by craft store Hobby Lobby in July is being returned to Iraq in a formal ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
Hobby Lobby’s forfeited Gilgamesh tablet is headed back to Iraq, and authorities hope it will be a warning to smugglers|Peggy McGlone|September 22, 2021|Washington Post
Those artifacts are among a half-million or so cuneiform tablets in museum collections around the world and are of interest to scholars and researchers.
Rare ‘Gilgamesh’ tablet, once on view at the Museum of the Bible, is one step closer to being returned to Iraq|Peggy McGlone|July 29, 2021|Washington Post

Federal authorities have taken ownership of a rare cuneiform tablet that craft company Hobby Lobby purchased in 2014 for the Museum of the Bible, a legal move that closes the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the museum’s problematic collection.
Rare ‘Gilgamesh’ tablet, once on view at the Museum of the Bible, is one step closer to being returned to Iraq|Peggy McGlone|July 29, 2021|Washington Post
The early inhabitants of Armenia, who have left us inscriptions in the cuneiform character, also belonged to it.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce
The history of cuneiform writing is especially instructive as regards the point under present discussion.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
As M. mile Burnouf tells me, three dots in a row, in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, denote royal majesty.
Troy and its Remains|Henry (Heinrich) Schliemann
Burnouf, denote royal majesty in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions.
Troy and its Remains|Henry (Heinrich) Schliemann
In regard to the history of these monarchies, much light has been obtained from the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for cuneiform

cuneiform

/ (ˈkjuːnɪˌfɔːm) /

adjective

Also: cuneal wedge-shaped

of, relating to, or denoting the wedge-shaped characters employed in the writing of several ancient languages of Mesopotamia and Persia, esp Sumerian, Babylonian, etc

of or relating to a tablet in which this script is employed

of or relating to any of the three tarsal bones

noun

cuneiform characters or writing

any one of the three tarsal bones

Word Origin for cuneiform

C17: probably from Old French cunéiforme, from Latin cuneus wedge

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for cuneiform

cuneiform

[ kyōō′nē-ə-fôrm′, kyōō-nē′- ]

adj.

Wedge-shaped.

Of, relating to, or being a wedge-shaped bone or cartilage.

A wedge-shaped bone, especially one of three such bones of the foot.

cuneiform

Origin of cuneiform

Words nearby cuneiform

Words related to cuneiform

How to use cuneiform in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cuneiform

Word Origin for cuneiform

Medical definitions for cuneiform