Hieratic Definition
- sacerdotal
- hieratical
- priestly
A writing system used in pharaonic Egypt that was developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, primarily written in ink with a reed brush on papyrus, allowing scribes to write quickly without resorting to the time consuming hieroglyphs.
- hieratic script
Other Word Forms of Hieratic
Noun
Origin of Hieratic
Use pertaining to the Egyptian writing system originates with the Greek phrase γράμματα ἱερατικά (grammata hieratika; literally "priestly writing"), which was first used by Saint Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century AD, as at that time hieratic was used only for religious texts, as had been the case for the previous thousand years.
From Wiktionary
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Latin hierāticus from Greek hierātikos from hierāteia priesthood from hierāsthai to be a priest from hiereus priest from hieros holy eis- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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