hieroglyph
Americannoun
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a single symbol in a hieroglyphic writing system.
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something that resembles a symbol in a hieroglyphic writing system.
Explanation
A hieroglyph is a picture that represents a word or part of a word. Several ancient cultures, including Egyptians and Mayans, used hieroglyphs as part of their writing systems. The earliest hieroglyphs archaeologists have found were carved in stone around 3000 BCE, in Egypt. These symbols and pictures were clearly not just illustrations, but part of a true written language. Each hieroglyph stood for an object or action, represented the sound of a syllable, and made the meaning of surrounding hieroglyphs clear. The Greek roots of this word are hieros, "sacred," and glyphe, "carving."
Vocabulary lists containing hieroglyph
The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle
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The Way to Rio Luna
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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.
A vulture is used as the hieroglyph for mother, mut being the word for them both, and for the mother goddess of Thebes.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
Some other holes were tagged with the Nefer hieroglyph, the symbol for “good”; perhaps some benefit accrued to pieces that landed there, Carter speculated.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 26, 2019
“Udjat,” first presented in 1985, is named after the Egyptian sacred eye hieroglyph, which represents completeness and is an apt symbol for Ms. Osserman’s impressive artistic milestone.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2016
The Egyptians had a hieroglyph fashioned after the barn owl.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2015
Useless to me in any case, an ancient hieroglyph to which the key’s been lost.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
