Link Centre Dictionary

hieratic

hie·ra·tic

UK/ˌhaɪ(ə)ˈɹætɪk/ uncommon
adjective (3) noun (1)

adjective

1.

associated with the priesthood or priests

  • “priestly (or sacerdotal) vestments”
  • “hieratic gestures”
Synonyms
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”
Similar

noun

1.

a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphics; used especially by the priests

Synonyms

Origin

From Latin hieraticus, from Ancient Greek ἱερατικός (hieratikós), from ἱερατεία (hierateía, “priesthood”), from ἱερατεύω (hierateúō, “be a priest”), from ἱερεύς (hiereús, “priest”), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred”). Use pertaining to the Egyptian writing system originates with the Greek phrase γράμματα ἱερατικά (grámmata hieratiká, 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.

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Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.