hieroglyph
Definition
- Noun:
- A character in a system of picture writing: A single pictorial symbol, especially one used in the formal writing systems of ancient Egypt, Anatolia, or other ancient cultures. Each symbol can represent a word, a sound (syllable), or a concept.
- Illegible or cryptic writing: Writing or symbols that are difficult to read or decipher, resembling ancient picture writing in their complexity or obscurity.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The stone tablet was covered in intricate hieroglyphs depicting gods and animals.
- Egyptologists can now translate Egyptian hieroglyphs with great accuracy.
- (Figurative) His handwriting is so bad it looks like hieroglyphs to me.
Advanced Usage
- "Hieroglyphic" as an adjective: Describing something that consists of or relates to hieroglyphs.
- The tomb contained hieroglyphic inscriptions.
- Used metaphorically: To describe any system of communication that is complex, symbolic, and hard for the uninitiated to understand.
- To a layperson, the circuit diagram was a page of electronic hieroglyphs.
Variants and Related Words
- Hieroglyphic (adj): Of or relating to hieroglyphs; written in or consisting of hieroglyphs.
- A hieroglyphic script.
- Hieroglyphics (n, plural): Often used to refer to the entire system of writing or a collection of hieroglyphic characters.
- The study of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Synonyms
- Pictograph: A pictorial symbol for a word or phrase. (Note: A hieroglyph is a specific type of pictograph used in certain formal writing systems.)
- Symbol: A mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process.
- Cipher: A secret or disguised way of writing; a code. (For the figurative sense of illegible writing.)
Related Phrases
- In hieroglyphs: Written using hieroglyphic characters.
- The pharaoh's name was inscribed in hieroglyphs.
- Decipher/translate hieroglyphs: To interpret or convert hieroglyphic writing into a modern language.
Related Idioms
- As clear as hieroglyphics: Used sarcastically to say something is completely unclear or incomprehensible.
- His explanation of the tax code was as clear as hieroglyphics.
Noun
-
a writing system using picture symbols; used in ancient Egypt
-
writing that resembles hieroglyphics (usually by being illegible)
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