Hieratic

Hieratic
Hieratic Hi`er*at"ic, a. [L. hieraticus, Gr. "ieratiko`s; akin to "iero`s sacred: cf. F. hi['e]ratique.] Consecrated to sacred uses; sacerdotal; pertaining to priests. [1913 Webster]

{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. [1913 Webster]

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.). [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • hieratic — HIERÁTIC, Ă, hieratici, ce, adj. 1. Care ţine de lucruri sfinte. 2. (În sintagma) Scriere hieratică = scriere cursivă şi simplificată a hieroglifelor. 3. (În artă; despre concepţii, orientări, realizări etc.) Care reprezintă sau susţine… …   Dicționar Român

  • hieratic — pertaining to sacred things, 1650s (implied in hieratical), from L. hieraticus, from Gk. hieratikos pertaining to a priest or his office, priestly, from hierateia priesthood, from hiereus priest, from hieros sacred, holy, hallowed; superhuman,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • hieratic — [hī΄ər at′ik] adj. [L hieraticus < Gr hieratikos, of a priest s office, sacerdotal < hieros, sacred: see HIERO ] 1. of or used by priests; priestly; sacerdotal 2. designating or of the abridged form of cursive hieroglyphic writing once used …   English World dictionary

  • Hieratic — Infobox Writing system name=Hieratic type=Abjad typedesc=with logographic elements time=Protodynastic Period–3rd century AD languages=Egyptian language fam1=Egyptian hieroglyphs children=Demotic spaces|2→ Coptic spaces|2→ Merotitic spaces|4→ Old… …   Wikipedia

  • hieratic — hieratically, adv. /huy euh rat ik, huy rat /, adj. 1. Also, hieratical. of or pertaining to priests or the priesthood; sacerdotal; priestly. 2. noting or pertaining to a form of ancient Egyptian writing consisting of abridged forms of… …   Universalium

  • hieratic — adjective Etymology: Latin hieraticus sacerdotal, from Greek hieratikos, from hierasthai to perform priestly functions, from hieros sacred; probably akin to Sanskrit iṣara vigorous Date: 1669 1. constituting or belonging to a cursive form of… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • hieratic — 1. adjective a) of or pertaining to priests, especially pharaonic priests of ancient Egypt; sacerdotal. Some of the more hieratic sculptures leave the viewer curiously unmoved. b) of or pertaining to the cursive writing system developed by… …   Wiktionary

  • Hieratic —     A cursive script developed from hieroglyphs and regularly used for business and everyday matters, from the earliest dynasties until the New Kingdom (about two thousand years). Hieratic was particularly employed for writing on papyrus:… …   Ancient Egypt

  • hieratic —    Representing the sizes of things according to their importance, rather than how they would objectively appear in space. Hieratic compositions are often seen in the art of various ancient civilizations and primitive peoples, as well as during… …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • hieratic — hi•er•at•ic [[t]ˌhaɪ əˈræt ɪk, haɪˈræt [/t]] adj. 1) rel Also, hi er•at′i•cal. of or pertaining to priests or a priesthood; sacerdotal; priestly 2) anq ling. of or designating a form of ancient Egyptian writing consisting of abridged forms of… …   From formal English to slang

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