Cuneiform definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CUNEIFORM, CUNIFORM, a. [L., a wedge, and form.] Having the shape or form of a wedge.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: shaped like a wedge [syn: wedge-shaped, cuneal, cuneiform]
2: of or relating to the tarsal bones (or other wedge-shaped bones) n
1: an ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: probably from French cunéiforme, from Middle French, from Latin cuneus + Middle French -iforme -iform Date: 1677 1. having the shape of a wedge 2. composed of or written in wedge-shaped characters <cuneiform syllabary> II. noun Date: 1808 1. a cuneiform part; specifically a cuneiform bone or cartilage 2. cuneiform writing

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 wedge-shaped. 2 of, relating to, or using the wedge-shaped writing impressed usu. in clay in ancient Babylonian etc. inscriptions. --n. cuneiform writing. Etymology: F cunéiforme or mod.L cuneiformis f. L cuneus wedge

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cuneiform Cu*ne"i*form (k?-n?"?-f?rm), Cuniform Cu"ni*form (k?"n?-f?rm), a. [L. cuneus a wedge + -form: cf. F. cunei-forme. See Coin.] 1. Wedge-shaped; as, a cuneiform bone; -- especially applied to the wedge-shaped or arrowheaded characters of ancient Persian and Assyrian inscriptions. See Arrowheaded. 2. Pertaining to, or versed in, the ancient wedge-shaped characters, or the inscriptions in them. ``A cuneiform scholar.'' --Rawlinson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cuneiform Cu*ne"i*form, Cuniform Cu"ni*form, n. 1. The wedge-shaped characters used in ancient Persian and Assyrian inscriptions. --I. Taylor (The Alphabet). 2. (Anat.) (a) One of the three tarsal bones supporting the first, second third metatarsals. They are usually designated as external, middle, and internal, or ectocuniform, mesocuniform, and entocuniform, respectively. (b) One of the carpal bones usually articulating with the ulna; -- called also pyramidal and ulnare.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Cuneate, wedge-shaped.

Moby Thesaurus

arrowhead, character, cuneate, cuneated, deltoid, demotic character, determinative, grammalogue, hieratic symbol, hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, hieroglyphics, hiragana, ideogram, ideograph, kana, katakana, logogram, logograph, ogham, oxygonal, phonetic, phonetic symbol, pictogram, pictograph, radical, rune, shorthand, triangular, trigonal, trilateral, wedge, word letter