What is the origin of the word 'Hieroglyph' and what is its actual meaning.?

Question

Egyptian pictographs.

Answer 1

The word comes from two Greek words: 'hieros', sacred; and 'glyph', carving. (I've transliterated them, obviously; I don't have a Greek keyboard set up.) ;-)

A hieroglyph is one of the symbols used in a pictographic writing system (such as ancient Eygyptian), in which an object or concept is represented by a possibly stylized image. So the word 'cat' might be represented by a sketch of a cat, and 'light' might be represented by something like an image of the sun.

Answer 2

The origin - This is derived from the Greek words "hieros," meaning symbol and "gliphe," meaning sculpture.
The Meaning - The term hieroglyph means "sacred counting."


The term hieroglyph refers to an individual character found in the writing of the Ancient Egyptians. Although the writing was pictorial, hieroglyphs represented sounds rather than symbolizing objects. The term hieroglyph means "sacred counting." This is derived from the Greek words "hieros," meaning symbol and "gliphe," meaning sculpture. As a whole, the word is a Greek translation of the Egyptian phrase "the gods' words." The Greeks chose this name to distinguish it from demotic, the ordinary writing style. The earliest examples of hieroglyphics show that the pictures stood for sounds, or phonetic values, not for the objects in the picture. Therefore, what is in the picture may have been unclear in detail.

QAC

Answer 3

Definition Of Hieroglyphs

Answer 4

Hieroglyph is a picture of an object representing a word, syllable, or sound, especially as found in the ancient egyptian writing system.

Hieroglyph is originate from greek from the word "hierogulphikos

Answer 5

Wikipedia.com says that "Hieroglyphs are a writing system used by the Ancient Egyptians, that contained a combination of logographic, alphabetic, and ideographic elements". It also mentions the Etymology and Usage of the word hieroglyph "The word hieroglyph comes from the Greek ἱερογλυφικά (ʰieroglyfiká); the adjective hieroglyphic, as well as related words such as ἱερoγλυφος (ʰieroglyphos 'one who writes hieroglyphs', from ἱερός (hierós 'sacred') and γλύφειν (glýfein 'to carve' or 'to write'). Hieroglyphs themselves, were called τὰ ἱερογλυφικά (γράμματα) (tà ʰieroglyfiká (grámmata), 'engraved characters') on monuments (such as stelae, temples and tombs). The word hieroglyph has come to be used for the individual hieroglyphic characters themselves."

In Britannica.com, Hieroglyph is "a character used in a system of pictorial writing, particularly that form used on ancient Egyptian monuments."

Nowadays some people also use the term to describe bad handwriting.

Answer 6

The word hieroglyph is the Greek equivalent of the original and indigenous Egyptian sacred script known in the ancient tongue of Kemet [KMT] as the Metu Neter, which means "the words of God." The name Egypt itself Aeguptus is the Greek description of KMT, meaning "burnt-face" for the complexion of the inhabitants of the land." The idea of sacred writing describes its primary function in the role of the priests and temple universities in which they taught. Two other types of scripts were also used, the hieratic ( a cursive form of the Metu Neter) and the demotic (the flowing script of the common populace). The Neter(s) were not Gods in the sense of a Supreme Being, rather the representative forces and principles existent within and permeating the universe. The Kemetu belived not in many gods, but one Supreme Being (Amen Ra) manifested in three persons: Amen, Horus, and Isis. All other Neters were recursive expressions of the same "trinity" and opposing principles as manifested in the diverse levels of nature and human functions.

Answer 7

It is the pictures from Ancient Egypt that were used to tell stories, like on the pyrimids, and in the tombs of the kings. It was their way of writing.