hieratic

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word hieratic. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word hieratic, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say hieratic in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word hieratic you have here. The definition of the word hieratic will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofhieratic, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: hieràtic

English

Tablet with hieratic excerpt, c. 1514–1493 BCE.

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

Adjective

hieratic (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to priests, especially pharaonic priests of Ancient Egypt.
    Synonyms: sacerdotal, priestly
    • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
      In sculpture and in the drama, in Aristophanic farce and in hieratic rituals, in pictorial art and in the stream of literature, the phallus is transcendent.
  2. Of or pertaining to the cursive writing system that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system as its ordinary handwritten counterpart.
    • 2021, Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags, Bodleian Library, page 117:
      The papyrus was written in hieratic, a cursive form of hieroglyphics.
  3. (art) Extremely stylized, restrained or formal; adhering to fixed types or methods; severe in emotional import.
    Some of the more hieratic sculptures leave the viewer curiously unmoved.
    • 1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 3, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 37:
      They came in among earth-moving machines, a total absence of trees, the usual hieratic geometry, and eventually, shimmying for the sand roads, down in a helix to a sculptured body of water named Lake Inverarity.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

hieratic (plural hieratics)

  1. (historical) 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.

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French hiératique, from Latin hieraticus.

Adjective

hieratic m or n (feminine singular hieratică, masculine plural hieratici, feminine and neuter plural hieratice)

  1. hieratic

Declension

Declension of hieratic
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative
indefinite hieratic hieratică hieratici hieratice
definite hieraticul hieratica hieraticii hieraticele
genitive-
dative
indefinite hieratic hieratice hieratici hieratice
definite hieraticului hieraticei hieraticilor hieraticelor