glyph

[ glif ]

/ glɪf /

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noun

a pictograph or hieroglyph.

a sculptured figure or relief carving.

Architecture. an ornamental channel or groove.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of glyph

1720–30; <Greek glyph(ḗ) carving, derivative of glýphein to hollow out

OTHER WORDS FROM glyph

glyphic, adjective

Words nearby glyph

Glyn, Glyndebourne, glyoxaline, glyoxylate, glyoxylic acid, glyph, glyphography, glyphosate, glyptal, glyptic, glyptics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use glyph in a sentence

But the month is not Cumhu nor is it Pop, but it is undoubtedly the glyph for the five supplementary days, Uayeb.
Was the Beginning Day of the Maya Month Numbered Zero (or Twenty) or One?|Charles P. Bowditch
The glyph which takes the place of the number is the same as that which has just been found before Yax.
Was the Beginning Day of the Maya Month Numbered Zero (or Twenty) or One?|Charles P. Bowditch
It would seem, therefore, that the glyph for Mol had been carved in error for that of Chen.
Was the Beginning Day of the Maya Month Numbered Zero (or Twenty) or One?|Charles P. Bowditch
This, I think, is clear, although the Xul glyph is not exactly like the other glyphs of this month.
Was the Beginning Day of the Maya Month Numbered Zero (or Twenty) or One?|Charles P. Bowditch

The form of the number glyph cannot fail to recall that of the similar glyphs in the Dresden Codex.
Was the Beginning Day of the Maya Month Numbered Zero (or Twenty) or One?|Charles P. Bowditch

British Dictionary definitions for glyph

glyph

/ (ɡlɪf) /

noun

a carved channel or groove, esp a vertical one as used on a Doric frieze

rare another word for hieroglyphic

any computer-generated character regarded in terms of its shape and bit pattern

Derived forms of glyph

glyphic, adjective

Word Origin for glyph

C18: from French glyphe, from Greek gluphē carving, from gluphein to carve

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