cuneiform
Americanadjective
-
having the form of a wedge; wedge-shaped.
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composed of slim triangular or wedge-shaped elements, as the characters used in writing by the ancient Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and others.
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written in cuneiform characters.
cuneiform inscription.
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Anatomy. noting or pertaining to any of various wedge-shaped bones, as of the tarsus.
noun
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cuneiform characters or writing.
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a cuneiform bone.
adjective
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Also: cuneal. wedge-shaped
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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
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of or relating to a tablet in which this script is employed
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of or relating to any of the three tarsal bones
noun
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cuneiform characters or writing
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any one of the three tarsal bones
Etymology
Origin of cuneiform
First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin cune(us) “a wedge” + -i- + -form
Explanation
Cuneiform is a type of writing that was used in ancient Mesopotamia and Persia. In a museum, you might see artifacts such as stone tablets with cuneiform carved into them. Cuneiform is typically pronounced "kyoo-NEE-uh-form." Back in Mesopotamian times, you would have written by carving wedge-shaped characters that make up a language called cuneiform. From the shape of the characters, we get the adjective cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped," like a cuneiform platter. Cuneiform also describes wedge-shaped bones, like those found in the lower leg.
Vocabulary lists containing cuneiform
Shape Up: Form
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Mesopotamia - Introductory
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Chapter 4: Mesopotamia
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Iraqi officials repeatedly urged them to depart, despite their discovery of ancient cuneiform tablets.
From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026
Inscribed in cuneiform script, it outlines the rights granted by Cyrus to his subjects in Babylon.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
However, cuneiform clay tablets contained a wide variety of texts, such as tax lists, sales documents, prayers, literature and early historical and mathematical texts.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
To this day, my notes look like something between cuneiform and the lines from furniture on wooden floors after decades of wear and tear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
Before the spread of alphabetic writing, systems making much use of logograms were more common and included Egyptian hieroglyphs, Maya glyphs, and Sumerian cuneiform.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
