a sacred symbol, as an emblem, pictograph, or the like
Word origin
[1650–60; hiero- + -gram1]This word is first recorded in the period 1650–60. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: burlesque, cardholder, parade, parameter, syllabus-gram is a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “somethingwritten,” “drawing” (epigram; diagram). On this model, -gram is used in the formation of compound words (oscillogram)