First published 1898; not yet revised

hieraticadjective

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency

Quotations

Hide all quotations

Factsheet

What does the adjective hieratic mean?

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective hieratic. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

hieratic has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

See meaning & use

How common is the adjective hieratic?

About 0.3occurrences per million words in modern written English

1770	0.0031
1780	0.0043
1790	0.0038
1800	0.014
1810	0.048
1820	0.08
1830	0.12
1840	0.16
1850	0.19
1860	0.21
1870	0.24
1880	0.26
1890	0.28
1900	0.3
1910	0.31
1920	0.3
1930	0.33
1940	0.35
1950	0.34
1960	0.33
1970	0.32
1980	0.27
1990	0.24
2000	0.22
2010	0.21

See frequency

How is the adjective hieratic pronounced?

British English

/hʌɪəˈratɪk/

See pronunciation

Where does the adjective hieratic come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1600s

The earliest known use of the adjective hieratic is in the mid 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for hieratic is from 1656, in the writing of Thomas Blount, antiquary and lexicographer.

hieratic is a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: Latin hierāticus.

See etymology

Nearby entries

hiera picra, n.1379–
hierarch, adj. & n.1486–
hierarchal, adj.1641–
hierarchic, adj.1681–
hierarchical, adj.1471–
hierarchically, adv.1624–
hierarchism, n.1846–
hierarchist, n.1640–
hierarchize, v.1884–
hierarchy, n.c1380–
hieratic, adj.1656–
hieratica, n.1832–
hieratical, adj.1656–
hieratico-, comb. form
hieraticopolitical, adj.1685–
hieratite, n.1882–
hiero-, comb. form
hierocracy, n.1794–
hierocratic, adj.1851–
hierocratical, adj.1801–
hierodule, n.1835–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Meaning & use

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Pronunciation

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Frequency

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Entry history for hieratic, adj.

hieratic, adj. was first published in 1898; not yet revised.

hieratic, adj. was last modified in July 2023.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into hieratic, adj. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1898)

Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

Find out more
View hieratic, a. in OED Second Edition

Cite

Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

Copied to clipboard

MLA9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

Copied to clipboard

Select format to download citation

Contribute

Please submit your feedback for hieratic, adj.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your
feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Section (required)

Feedback (required)

Citation details

Factsheet for hieratic, adj.

Browse entry

Nearby entries

hiera picra, n.1379–
hierarch, adj. & n.1486–
hierarchal, adj.1641–
hierarchic, adj.1681–
hierarchical, adj.1471–
hierarchically, adv.1624–
hierarchism, n.1846–
hierarchist, n.1640–
hierarchize, v.1884–
hierarchy, n.c1380–
hieratic, adj.1656–
hieratica, n.1832–
hieratical, adj.1656–
hieratico-, comb. form
hieraticopolitical, adj.1685–
hieratite, n.1882–
hiero-, comb. form
hierocracy, n.1794–
hierocratic, adj.1851–
hierocratical, adj.1801–
hierodule, n.1835–

Browse more nearby entries