cylinder seal

noun

1. a small carved cylinder used especially by the ancient Mesopotamians to impress a design in wet clay.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cylinder seal¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

There is apparently only one isolated occurrence of a camel on a cylinder-seal, and that belongs to the Persian period.

From Project Gutenberg

No. 85-4-8, 1; it is shaped like a cylinder-seal, and is inscribed with an incantation for Shamash-Killni.

From Project Gutenberg

The cylinder-seal was employed in Assyria from the earliest periods of her history, Fig. 72.

From Project Gutenberg