hieroglyphic

Meanings

Noun

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

Adjective

• of, relating to, or written with this system of symbols
• difficult to decipher

Origin

• First coined 1726, from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός, from ἱερογλυφέω, from ἱερός + γλύφω