cuneiform
[ kyoo-nee-uh-fawrm, kyoo-nee-uh- ]
/ kyuˈni əˌfɔrm, ˈkyu ni ə- /
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.
RELATED WORDS
print, handwriting, script, calligraphy, chirography, hand, scrawl, scribble, autograph, shorthand, hieroglyphics, longhand, ideography, runes, symbology
Nearby words
- cuneal,
- cuneate,
- cuneate fasciculus,
- cuneate nucleus,
- cuneatic,
- cuneiform bone,
- cuneiform cartilage,
- cuneiformist,
- cunene,
- cuneo
Also cuniform.
Origin of cuneiform
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
cuneiform
1670s, "wedge shaped," from French cunéiforme (16c.), from Latin cuneus "a wedge, wedge-shaped thing," of unknown origin, + French -forme (see form (n.)). Applied to characters in ancient Middle Eastern inscriptions made with wedge-shaped writing tools; first used in this sense by German physician and traveller Engelbert Kämpfer (1681-1716); in English from 1818. As a noun from 1862.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cuneiform
[ kyōō′nē-ə-fôrm′, kyōō-nē′- ]
adj.
Wedge-shaped.
Of, relating to, or being a wedge-shaped bone or cartilage.
n.
A wedge-shaped bone, especially one of three such bones of the foot.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.