cuneiform

[ kyoo-nee-uh-fawrm, kyoo-nee-uh- ]

adjective

1. having the form of a wedge; wedge-shaped.
2. composed of slim triangular or wedge-shaped elements, as the characters used in writing by the ancient Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and others.
3. written in cuneiform characters:

   cuneiform inscription.

4. Anatomy. noting or pertaining to any of various wedge-shaped bones, as of the tarsus.

noun

1. cuneiform characters or writing.
2. a cuneiform bone.

cuneiform

/ ˈkjuːnɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

1. Alsocuneal wedge-shaped
2. of, relating to, or denoting the wedge-shaped characters employed in the writing of several ancient languages of Mesopotamia and Persia, esp Sumerian, Babylonian, etc
3. of or relating to a tablet in which this script is employed
4. of or relating to any of the three tarsal bones

noun

1. cuneiform characters or writing
2. any one of the three tarsal bones

Word History and Origins

Origin of cuneiform¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin cune(us) “a wedge” + -i- + -form

Word History and Origins

Origin of cuneiform¹

C17: probably from Old French cunéiforme, from Latin cuneus wedge

Example Sentences

First, cuneiform tablets refer to a kunga production center in northern Syria.

From Science News

Before 1830, when the modern envelope was introduced, letterlocking was pretty much the only way we’d developed to send correspondence since we stopped using cuneiform tablets 4,000 years earlier.

From MIT Technology Review

The 3,500-year-old cuneiform clay tablet from ancient Mesopotamia that was seized by federal authorities in 2019 and officially forfeited by craft store Hobby Lobby in July is being returned to Iraq in a formal ceremony on Thursday afternoon.

From Washington Post

Federal authorities have taken ownership of a rare cuneiform tablet that craft company Hobby Lobby purchased in 2014 for the Museum of the Bible, a legal move that closes the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the museum’s problematic collection.

From Washington Post

Those artifacts are among a half-million or so cuneiform tablets in museum collections around the world and are of interest to scholars and researchers.

From Washington Post

The early inhabitants of Armenia, who have left us inscriptions in the cuneiform character, also belonged to it.

From Project Gutenberg

The history of cuneiform writing is especially instructive as regards the point under present discussion.

From Project Gutenberg

As M. mile Burnouf tells me, three dots in a row, in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, denote royal majesty.

From Project Gutenberg

Burnouf, denote royal majesty in the Persian cuneiform inscriptions.

From Project Gutenberg

In regard to the history of these monarchies, much light has been obtained from the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• calligraphy
• handwriting
• print
• script