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Meaning & use

cuneiform

noun, adjective·Advancedtechnical

Last updated

UK/kjuːˈniːɪfɔːm/
US/kjuˈniːəfɔːrm/

Meanings

  1. noununcountabletechnical

    One of the earliest writing systems, in which wedge-shaped marks were pressed into wet clay, used in ancient Mesopotamia.

    Grammar: Used as a mass noun for the script: read cuneiform.

    Patterns

    • written in cuneiform
    • a cuneiform tablet

    Scholars can read cuneiform that is more than four thousand years old.

    The museum displays a clay tablet inscribed in cuneiform.

    Cuneiform was first used to keep records of grain and livestock.

  2. adjectivebefore a nountechnical

    Relating to writing made up of wedge-shaped marks, or having a wedge shape.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun: cuneiform inscriptions.

    Patterns

    • cuneiform writing
    • cuneiform text

    Archaeologists uncovered a cuneiform inscription in the ruins.

    The cuneiform script was gradually replaced by alphabets.

    A cuneiform bone in the foot is shaped like a wedge.

Common combinations

cuneiform tablet
A cuneiform tablet recorded the sale of a field.
decipher cuneiform
Linguists worked for decades to decipher cuneiform.
cuneiform script
The cuneiform script was adapted by many languages.
cuneiform inscription
A cuneiform inscription on the gate named the king.
ancient cuneiform
Ancient cuneiform shows laws and poems as well as accounts.

Synonyms and how they differ

hieroglyphics
Hieroglyphics is the picture-based Egyptian script, and cuneiform is Mesopotamian and made of wedge marks.
script
Script is any writing system, whereas cuneiform names one particular ancient one.
inscription
An inscription is the text carved or pressed into a surface, and cuneiform describes the style of writing used.

Word family

cuneiform bone noun
one of three small wedge-shaped bones in the foot
cuneate adjective
wedge-shaped, used in botany
Sumerian adjective
relating to the civilization that first used cuneiform
stylus noun
the pointed tool used to press the marks into clay

Commonly confused: cuneiform or hieroglyphics?

cuneiform vs hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics is the Egyptian picture writing, whereas cuneiform consists of wedge shapes pressed into clay.

Practice

Which writing system did the Sumerians create by pressing a reed into wet clay?

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