glyph

[ glif ]

noun

1. a pictograph or hieroglyph.
2. a sculptured figure or relief carving.
3. Architecture. an ornamental channel or groove.

glyph

/ ɡlɪf /

noun

1. a carved channel or groove, esp a vertical one as used on a Doric frieze
2. rare.
   another word for hieroglyphic
3. any computer-generated character regarded in terms of its shape and bit pattern

Derived Forms

• ˈglyphic, adjective

Other Words From

• glyphic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyph¹

First recorded in 1720–30; from Greek glyph(ḗ) “a carving,” derivative of glýphein “to carve, hollow out”

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyph¹

C18: from French glyphe, from Greek gluphē carving, from gluphein to carve

Example Sentences

Ancient Maya glyphs trace the history of Ucanal in northern Guatemala.

From Science Magazine

Haring made uninflected linear drawings almost exclusively glyphs and pictographs, like Paleolithic cave art with an agitated urban edge.

From Los Angeles Times

If the outside of the berms is riotous nature, the interior is sleek and calm; gently sloping white walls bear glyphs inspired by Hohokam petroglyphs found in Southern Arizona.

From Los Angeles Times

The glyphs also highlight the lives of dynastic rulers such as the delightfully named K’ab Kante’, including when each one died, how they were memorialized and under what circumstances their successors came to the throne.

From New York Times

Only from the air does the layout finally resolve into an elegant glyph.

From Seattle Times