hieroglyphic

1 of 2

adjective

hi·​ero·​glyph·​ic ˌhī-(ə-)rə-ˈgli-fik 

variants or less commonly hieroglyphical

ˌhī-(ə-)rə-ˈgli-fi-kəl 

1

: written in, constituting, or belonging to a system of writing mainly in pictorial characters

2

: inscribed with hieroglyphic

3

: resembling hieroglyphic in difficulty of decipherment

hieroglyphically

ˌhī-(ə-)rə-ˈgli-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

hieroglyphic

2 of 2

noun

1

: hieroglyph

2

: a system of hieroglyphic writing

specifically : the picture script of the ancient Egyptian priesthood

—often used in plural but singular or plural in construction

3

: something that resembles a hieroglyph especially in difficulty of decipherment

Illustration of hieroglyphic

• hieroglyphic 2

Did you know?

If hieroglyphic writing is "all Greek to you," you know more about the etymology of hieroglyphic than you might think. That word comes from the Greek hieroglyphikos, which means "sacred carving" (from hieros, meaning "sacred," and glyphein, meaning "to carve"). The ancient Greeks who named hieroglyphic writing reserved that term for the picture writing they found carved in temple walls or on public monuments in Egypt; it was distinguished from writings done in ink on papyrus or other smooth surfaces. But since making their first appearances in English in the 1580s, both the noun hieroglyphics and the adjective hieroglyphic have been extended to apply to the picture writing of various cultures, whether or not those writings were carved or sacred.

Examples of hieroglyphic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Writing systems, emerging around 3,500 BCE, evolved into hieroglyphic script on papyrus, stone, and coffins. —Costa Beavin Pappas, ARTnews.com, 3 Jan. 2025

In the middle of the 19th century, little was known about this advanced culture—which calculated lunar, solar, and Venusian cycles, and invented hieroglyphic writing and the concept of the number zero with hardly any tools. —Anna Lagos, WIRED, 2 Nov. 2024

Noun

Running my fingers over the ancient hieroglyphics carved into the sarcophagus felt transgressive and delicious. —M. Leona Godin, AFAR Media, 3 Jan. 2025

But the mathematics underlying the chart is unfathomably complex, a combination of equations that make hieroglyphics seem self-explanatory. —Tom Siegfried, JSTOR Daily, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle French hieroglyphique, from Late Latin hieroglyphicus, from Greek hieroglyphikos, from hieros + glyphein to carve — more at cleave

First Known Use

Adjective

1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

hieroglyphic

noun

hi·​ero·​glyph·​ic

ˌhī-(ə-)rə-ˈglif-ik

1

: hieroglyph

2

: a system of writing mainly in pictorial characters

especially : the picture script of the ancient Egyptian priesthood

3

: unclear or unreadable signs or writing

hieroglyphic adjective

Etymology

Noun

derived from early French hieroglyphique (adjective) "relating to or being writing that consists of pictures or symbols rather than words," derived from Greek hieroglyphikos (same meaning), from hieros "sacred, holy" and glyphikos "of carving"; so called because it referred to the system of carvings used on ancient Egyptian temples