Definition of "hieroglyphic" []

• Of, relating to, or being a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound. (adjective)
• Written with such symbols. (adjective)
• Difficult to read or decipher. (adjective)
• A hieroglyph. (noun)
• Hieroglyphic writing, especially that of the ancient Egyptians. Often used in the plural with a singular or plural verb. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Written in hieroglyphic form with accompanying portraitures, the historical texts are based on an early form of the Maya language, probably Chol."
• "The point is that written texts, whether in hieroglyphic form or in Roman transcription, afford us a unique insight into the hearts and minds of the people who wrote them or those for whom they were written."
• "Having first described the Stabl Antar, he says: – In another grotto I found twice over the name of the city written in hieroglyphic characters, Çi-ou-t."