pictograph

[ pik-tuh-graf, -grahf ]

See synonyms for: pictograph pictographic on Thesaurus.com

noun

a pictorial sign or symbol.
a record consisting of pictorial symbols, as a prehistoric cave drawing or a graph or chart with symbolic figures representing a certain number of people, cars, factories, etc.

Origin of pictograph

1850–55; <Latin pict(us) painted (see picture) + -o- + -graph

Other words from pictograph

pic·to·graph·ic [pik-tuh-graf-ik], /ˌpɪk təˈgræf ɪk/, adjective
pic·to·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby pictograph

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

How to use pictograph in a sentence

Boldly sculpted or painted pictographs and petroglyphs are easier to work around, while fine-lined carvings demand a bit more caution.
A Visitor to Big Bend Damaged a 5,000-Year-Old Petroglyph Forever | cobrien | January 12, 2022 | Outside Online
Its earliest manifestations were simple pictographs on the digital cave wall of a TV screen.
We are awash in digital light | Chris Turner | October 27, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
The other pictograph shows one or more rectangular layers filled with dots, and means tlalli, or “earth.”
This pictogram is one of the oldest known accounts of earthquakes in the Americas | Carolyn Gramling | September 7, 2021 | Science News
And the common pictograph to represent the Arikara among all the surrounding tribes was a conventionalised ear of corn.
Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph Gilmore
Fig. 214 is an Ojibwa pictograph found in Schoolcraft, I, pl.
Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes | Garrick Mallery

The Ojibwa pictograph for sun is seen in Fig. 169, taken from Schoolcraft, loc.
Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes | Garrick Mallery
Fig. 211 is an Ojibwa pictograph taken from Schoolcraft, loc.
Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared With That Among Other Peoples And Deaf-Mutes | Garrick Mallery
First, it is simply a representation of an object or a phenomenon, that is, a pictograph.
Evolution in Art | Alfred C. Haddon

British Dictionary definitions for pictograph

pictograph

/ (ˈpɪktəˌɡrɑːf, -ˌɡræf) /

noun

a picture or symbol standing for a word or group of words, as in written Chinese
a chart on which symbols are used to represent values, such as population levels or consumption

Origin of pictograph

C19: from Latin pictus, from pingere to paint

Derived forms of pictograph

pictographic (ˌpɪktəˈɡræfɪk), adjective
pictography (pɪkˈtɒɡrəfɪ), noun

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

Browse