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Hieratic - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Hieratic : adj
1: associated with the priesthood or priests; "priestly (or
sacerdotal) vestments"; "hieratic gestures" [syn: priestly,
hieratical, sacerdotal]
2: written or belonging to a cursive form of ancient Egyptian
writing; "hieratic Egyptian script"
3: adhering to fixed types or methods; highly restrained and
formal; "the more hieratic sculptures leave the viewer
curiously unmoved"
(noun)
1: a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphics; used especially by
the priests [syn: hieratic script]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Hieratic : \Hi`er*at"ic\, a. [L. hieraticus, Gr. ?; akin to
"iero`s sacred: cf. F. hi['e]ratique.]
Consecrated to sacred uses; sacerdotal; pertaining to
priests.
Hieratic character, a mode of ancient Egyptian writing; a
modified form of hieroglyphics, tending toward a cursive
hand and formerly supposed to be the sacerdotal character,
as the demotic was supposed to be that of the people.
It was a false notion of the Greeks that of the
three kinds of writing used by the Egyptians, two --
for that reason called hieroglyphic and hieratic --
were employed only for sacred, while the third, the
demotic, was employed for secular, purposes. No such
distinction is discoverable on the more ancient
Egyptian monuments; bur we retain the old names
founded on misapprehension. --W. H. Ward
(Johnson's
Cyc.).
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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Example Usage of Hieratic |
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hieratic: RT @afterellen: Debunking the top 10 myths about lesbians http://alturl.com/ts3v |
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hieratic: @coryaw Oh yeah, TOTALLY GAY I've only known for quite awhile because she dated someone for so long who was out - she rocks my world. |
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hieratic: RT @afterellen: A photo tour of the high-profile women in entertainment who've come out in the last decade http://tr.im/IjGF |
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