hieroglyphic
1 synonym for hieroglyphic, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A system of writing, used by the ancient Egyptians and other early civilisations, that represents sounds through picture-like symbols.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
Coined in 1726 from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός (hierogluphikós), from ἱερογλυφέω (hierogluphéō, "to represent hieroglyphically"), from ἱερός (hierós, "sacred, holy") and γλύφω (glúphō, "to carve, to engrave, to cut out"). By surface analysis, it splits into hiero-...
Full origin of hieroglyphic →