# hieroglyphic

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌhaɪɹəˈɡlɪfɪk/ · frequency rank #62,968

## Definitions
1. A writing system of ancient Egypt, Minoans, Maya and other civilizations, using pictorial symbols to represent individual sounds, often as a rebus.
2. Any symbol used in this system; a hieroglyph.
3. Undecipherable handwriting or secret symbol.

## Etymology
First coined 1726, from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός (hierogluphikós), from ἱερογλυφέω (hierogluphéō, “to represent hieroglyphically”), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy”) + γλύφω (glúphō, “to carve, to engrave, to cut out”). By surface analysis, hiero- + glyphic.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hieroglyphic