hieratic

hi·er·atic (hī′ər at′ik)

adjective

of or used by priests; priestly; sacerdotal
designating or of the abridged form of cursive hieroglyphic writing once used by Egyptian priests

Etymology: L hieraticus < Gr hieratikos, of a priest's office, sacerdotal < hieros, sacred: see hiero-

hi′·er·at′i·cally adverb

Adjective modifier

Egyptian: The value of the weight is uniformly written in Egyptian hieratic.

Modifies a noun

inscription: Only one sherd with an hieratic inscription has been found, mentioning meat.
script: This form of writing also took its name from the hieros or priest and is called hieratic script.
writing: Or, if they wouldn't have me, then painting beautiful hieratic writing on the walls of a nobleman's tomb.
figure: Behind them rise ten hieratic faceless figures viewed from a child's perspective, impossibly pristine in their immaculate, starched white aprons.
text: The use of the negative arms for the preposition n " to, for " etc. , is fairly common in Hieratic texts.
form: As a result, girls ' school stories cannot be viewed as a " hieratic form of art " .

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