Hieroglyph

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hieroglyph \Hi"er*o*glyph\, Hieroglyphic \Hi`er*o*glyph"ic\, n.
     [Cf. F. hi['e]roglyphe. See {Hieroglyphic}, a.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A sacred character; a character used in picture writing,
        as of the ancient Egyptians, Mexicans, etc. Specifically,
        in the plural, the picture writing of the ancient Egyptian


        priests. It is made up of three, or, as some say, four
        classes of characters: first, the hieroglyphic proper, or
        figurative, in which the representation of the object
        conveys the idea of the object itself; second, the
        ideographic, consisting of symbols representing ideas, not
        sounds, as an ostrich feather is a symbol of truth; third,
        the phonetic, consisting of symbols employed as syllables
        of a word, or as letters of the alphabet, having a certain
        sound, as a hawk represented the vowel a.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any character or figure which has, or is supposed to have,
        a hidden or mysterious significance; hence, any
        unintelligible or illegible character or mark. [Colloq.]
        Hieroglyphic

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hieroglyph
       n 1: writing that resembles hieroglyphics (usually by being
            illegible) [syn: {hieroglyphic}]
       2: a writing system using picture symbols; used in ancient
          Egypt [syn: {hieroglyphic}]