hieratic

2 definitions found

hieratic - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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]

hieratic - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  hieratic
      adj 1: associated with the priesthood or priests; "priestly (or
             sacerdotal) vestments"; "hieratic gestures" [syn:
             priestly, hieratic, hieratical, sacerdotal]
      2: written or belonging to a cursive form of ancient Egyptian
         writing; "hieratic Egyptian script"
      3: adhering to fixed types or methods; highly restrained and
         formal; "the more hieratic sculptures leave the viewer
         curiously unmoved"
      n 1: a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphics; used especially
           by the priests [syn: hieratic, hieratic script]