cuneiform
cuneiform Lexical Profile
cuneiform Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, written in, or denoting the ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia.
"Archaeologists uncovered thousands of cuneiform tablets preserved in the ruins of the ancient royal library."
Having the shape of a wedge, especially with reference to certain small bones of the foot or wrist in anatomy.
"The radiograph revealed a minor fracture in the medial cuneiform bone of the athlete's right foot."
• noun
An ancient logo-syllabic writing system composed of wedge-shaped impressions made with a stylus on clay tablets, used across Mesopotamia, Persia, and the ancient Near East for languages such as Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hittite.
"Students in the ancient history seminar learned how to transliterate basic Sumerian cuneiform."
Any of three wedge-shaped tarsal bones in the human foot located between the navicular bone and the first three metatarsal bones.
"Tightly laced footwear can sometimes irritate the dorsal surface of the first cuneiform."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 17th century from French cunéiforme or Modern Latin cuneiformis, formed from Latin cuneus ('wedge') and -formis ('-shaped'), originally referring to the wedge-shaped strokes impressed into clay tablets with a reed stylus.