hieroglyph
noun
hi·ero·glyph ˈhī-(ə-)rə-ˌglif 
1
: a character used in a system of hieroglyphic writing
2
: something that resembles a hieroglyph
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Somebody told me an interesting thing: that the question mark is basically a hieroglyph. 
David Marchesephoto Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022 There’s a hieroglyph of what is supposed to be a young Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild, which shows both long hair and what might be a green tunic. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 19 June 2021 Once you're done tracing, Fabricus gives you a percentage score that shows you how confident the machine learning algorithm is that your symbol matches a corresponding hieroglyph in its training data. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2020 Leopards appear as hieroglyphs and statues in many Egyptian artworks. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Mar. 2020 The 27th square of this particular board shows a hieroglyph for water, where traditionally, the 27th square would typically show an X. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 11 Feb. 2020 Nesyamun was mummified and entombed in a coffin inscribed with hieroglyphs, mainly texts from the Book of the Dead. Ben Guarino, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Jan. 2020 Instead, excerpts were written on the inside of the sarcophagus itself, surviving in the form of two rotting cedar panels etched with images and hieroglyphs. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Jan. 2020 A few years ago, after a visit to Teotihuacán, the members of the band Iron Maiden got a scholar to translate their song titles into a Mayan language called Yucatec and had the hieroglyphs printed on the tail fin of their 747. Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 29 July 2019 See More
David Marchesephoto Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022 There’s a hieroglyph of what is supposed to be a young Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild, which shows both long hair and what might be a green tunic. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 19 June 2021 Once you're done tracing, Fabricus gives you a percentage score that shows you how confident the machine learning algorithm is that your symbol matches a corresponding hieroglyph in its training data. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2020 Leopards appear as hieroglyphs and statues in many Egyptian artworks. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Mar. 2020 The 27th square of this particular board shows a hieroglyph for water, where traditionally, the 27th square would typically show an X. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 11 Feb. 2020 Nesyamun was mummified and entombed in a coffin inscribed with hieroglyphs, mainly texts from the Book of the Dead. Ben Guarino, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Jan. 2020 Instead, excerpts were written on the inside of the sarcophagus itself, surviving in the form of two rotting cedar panels etched with images and hieroglyphs. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Jan. 2020 A few years ago, after a visit to Teotihuacán, the members of the band Iron Maiden got a scholar to translate their song titles into a Mayan language called Yucatec and had the hieroglyphs printed on the tail fin of their 747. Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 29 July 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
French hiéroglyphe, from Middle French, back-formation from hieroglyphique
First Known Use
1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1
hieroglyph
noun
as in image
a pictorial character used in hieroglyphics A tomb inscribed with hieroglyphs. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- image
- hieroglyphic
- drawing
- picture
- portrait
- icon
- etching
- ideograph
- ideogram
- illustration
- likeness
- representation
- resemblance
- photograph
- depiction
- watercolor
- view
- ikon
- sketch
- daub
- delineation
- silhouette
- collage
- doodle
- pictograph
- diagram
- cartoon
- finger painting
- caricature
- montage