Etymograph

English

hieroglyphic

Hieroglyphic comes from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός ‘hieroglyphic, pertaining to hieroglyphs’, from ἱερός ‘sacred, holy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ish₁ros.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ish₁ros‘holy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*iherós‘holy, divine’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἱερόςhierós‘sacred, holy’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἱερόγλῠφοςhieróglŭphos‘carver of hieroglyphics’
  5. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἱερογλυφικόςhierogluphikós‘hieroglyphic, pertaining to hieroglyphs’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhieroglyphicus
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presenthiéroglyphique
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1837hieroglyphic

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ish₁ros‘holy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*iherós‘holy, divine’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἱερόςhierós‘sacred, holy’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἱερόγλῠφοςhieróglŭphos‘carver of hieroglyphics’
  5. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἱερογλυφικόςhierogluphikós‘hieroglyphic, pertaining to hieroglyphs’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhieroglyphicus
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presenthiéroglyphique
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1837hieroglyphic

Earliest quotation: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Gaieties and Absurdities. Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Mered: “I must say, that, at the coronation, there was…”

Equivalent to hiero- + glyphic

Proto-Indo-European *ish₁ros ‘holy’

Proto-Hellenic *iherós ‘holy, divine’

Ancient Greek ἱερός ‘sacred, holy’

English hiero-

Ancient Greek γλυφικός

English glyphic

The story

First coined 1726, from French hiéroglyphique, from Latin hieroglyphicus, from Ancient Greek ἱερογλυφικός (hierogluphikós), from ἱερογλυφέω (hierogluphéō, “to represent hieroglyphically”), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy”) + γλύφω (glúphō, “to carve, to engrave, to cut out”).

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *ish₁ros

Today it means

noun A writing system of ancient Egypt, Minoans, Maya and other civilizations, using pictorial symbols to represent individual sounds, often as a rebus.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ish₁ros / hieroglyphic

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