pictograph

[pik-tuh-graf, -grahf]

See more synonyms for pictograph 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

Related formspic·to·graph·ic

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

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

Related Words for pictographic

descriptive, drawn, hieroglyphic, illustrated, illustrative, outlined, painted, photographic, pictorial, traced, visual, delineated, depicted, diagrammatic, etched, iconographic, illustrational, portrayed, representational, seen

Examples from the Web for pictographic

Contemporary Examples of pictographic

Neither do his pictographic dramas have any resemblance to the covers from which his characters hail.
Pulp Fictions
Philip Gefter
September 10, 2009

Historical Examples of pictographic

This writing is pictographic, and although not yet translated, appears to be a contract.
Archology and the Bible
George A. Barton
The figures could be duplicated in the work of the ancient Pueblos, and in the pictographic art of many of our savage tribes.
Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi Valley
William H. Holmes
A pictographic painting--the Coat of Arms of the great family of Shewish hung upon the wall.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island
Alfred Carmichael
The figure at the base of the pictographic painting represents the mammoth whale upon whose back the whole creation rests.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island
Alfred Carmichael
The centre figure in the pictographic painting is a wolf grotesquely drawn.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island
Alfred Carmichael

British Dictionary definitions for pictographic

pictograph

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

Derived Formspictographic (ˌpɪktəˈɡræfɪk), adjectivepictography (pɪkˈtɒɡrəfɪ), noun

Word Origin for pictograph

C19: from Latin pictus, from pingere to paint

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 pictographic

pictograph

"picture or symbol representing an idea," 1851, from Latin pictus "painted," past participle of pingere "to paint" (see paint (v.)) + -graph "something written." First used in reference to American Indian writing. Related: Pictography.