hieroglyphic

[hahy-er-uh-glif-ik, hahy-ruh-]

See more synonyms for hieroglyphic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

Also hi·er·o·glyph·i·cal. designating or pertaining to a pictographic script, particularly that of the ancient Egyptians, in which many of the symbols are conventionalized, recognizable pictures of the things represented.
inscribed with hieroglyphic symbols.
hard to decipher; hard to read.

noun

Also hi·er·o·glyph. a hieroglyphic symbol.
Usually hieroglyphics. hieroglyphic writing.
a figure or symbol with a hidden meaning.
hieroglyphics, handwriting, figures, characters, code, etc., difficult to decipher: the confusing hieroglyphics of advanced mathematics.

Origin of hieroglyphic

1575–85; < Late Latin hieroglyphicus < Greek hieroglyphikós “pertaining to sacred writing.” See hiero-, glyph, -ic

Related formshi·er·o·glyph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hieroglyph

type, figure, monogram, emblem, number, mark, cipher, letter, logo, device, numeral, sign, hieroglyph, rune, fundamentals, morphemes, elements, syllabary, symbols, ideograph

Examples from the Web for hieroglyph

Historical Examples of hieroglyph

His memorandum, indeed, was as cryptic as an Egyptian hieroglyph.
The Borough Treasurer
Joseph Smith Fletcher
The god was never a symbol or hieroglyph representing the sun.
A Miscellany of Men
G. K. Chesterton
For him a picture is more or less a hieroglyph or symbol of story.
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
James McNeill Whistler
Pierre knew very well what a hieroglyph was, but dared not speak.
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
All in me and out of me is only the hieroglyph of a power which is like to me.
The Philosophical Letters
Friedrich Schiller

British Dictionary definitions for hieroglyph

hieroglyphic

adjective Also: hieroglyphical

of or relating to a form of writing using picture symbols, esp as used in ancient Egypt
written with hieroglyphic symbols
difficult to read or decipher

noun Also: hieroglyph

a picture or symbol representing an object, concept, or sound
a symbol or picture that is difficult to read or decipher

Derived Formshieroglyphically, adverbhieroglyphist (ˌhaɪərəˈɡlɪfɪst, ˌhaɪəˈrɒɡ-), noun

Word Origin for hieroglyphic

C16: from Late Latin hieroglyphicus, from Greek hierogluphikos, from hiero- + 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

Word Origin and History for hieroglyph

1590s, shortening of hieroglyphic (n.), 1590s; see hieroglyphic.

hieroglyphic

1580s (adj. and n.), from Late Latin hieroglyphicus, from Greek hieroglyphikos "hieroglyphic; of Egyptian writing," from hieros "sacred" (see ire) + glyphe "carving," from glyphein "to carve" (see glyph). Plutarch began the custom of using the adjective (ta hieroglyphika) as a noun.