cuneiform

English

Assyrian tablet bearing cuneiform script.

Alternative forms

• cuniform

Etymology

From French cunéiforme or New Latin cuneifōrmis, from Classical Latin cuneus (“wedge”) + fōrma.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkjuː.nɪ.fɔːm/, /ˈkjuː.ni.ɪ.fɔːm/, /kjʊˈneɪ.ɪ.fɔːm/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kjuˈni.ə.fɔɹm/, /ˈkju.nɪ.fɔɹm/, /kjuˈneɪ.ɪ.fɔɹm/

Adjective

cuneiform (not comparable)

1. Having the form of a wedge; wedge-shaped, especially with a tapered end.
   • 1889, John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt, “New Fire Among the Iroquois”, in American Anthropologist, volume 2, page 319:

     About midway across the larger log a cuneiform notch or cut about six inches deep was made.

   • 1936, W. Frank Calderon, Animal Painting and Anatomy, page 297:

     The cuneiform tendon is always sharply defined when the hock is flexed by the action of the muscle.

   • 1952, Aileen Fox, Roman Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum): Excavations in the War-damaged Areas, 1945-1947, page 69:

     The cuneiform leaf is not the characteristic heart-shaped early form (O. and P., p. 241).

2. Written in the cuneiform writing system.
   • 1911, Alvin Sylvester Zerbe, The Antiquity of Hebrew Writing and Literature, page 182:

     There, too, it was originally the vulgar script in contrast with the official cuneiform script employed for all official documents, compacts, etc.

   • 2000, Jöran Friberg, A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts, page ix:

     The text is inscribed on a clay tablet of a very unusual format. The only other known mathematical cuneiform text on a clay tablet of a similar format is also the only previously known Kassite (and therefore post-Old-Babylonian) mathematical cuneiform text.

Synonyms

• cuneal
• cuneiform bone
• precuneiform
• wedgelike
• wedge-shaped
• wedgy

 

Derived terms

• ectocuneiform
• entocuneiform
• intercuneiform
• mesocuneiform
• noncuneiform
• protocuneiform

 

Translations

having the form of a wedge

• Afrikaans: wigvormig
• Belarusian: клінападо́бны (klinapadóbny)
• Bulgarian: клинови́ден (klinovíden)
• Catalan: cuneïforme (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 楔形文字 (zh) (xiēxíng wénzì)

• Dutch: wigvormig (nl)
• Galician: cuneiforme (gl)
• German: keilförmig (de)
• Greek: σφηνοειδής (el) (sfinoeidís)
• Hungarian: ék alakú
• Icelandic: fleyglaga
• Irish: dingchruthach
• Polish: klinowy (pl)
• Russian: клинови́дный (ru) (klinovídnyj), клинообра́зный (ru) (klinoobráznyj)
• Swedish: kilformad (sv), kilformig
• Ukrainian: клиноподі́бний (klynopodíbnyj)
• Welsh: cynaidd, cynffurf

written in the cuneiform writing system

• Afrikaans: spykerskrif, wigskrif
• Armenian: սեպագիր (hy) (sepagir), բեւեռագիր (hy) (beweṙagir)
• Belarusian: клінапі́сны (klinapísny)
• Catalan: cuneïforme (ca)
• Dutch: spijkerschrift (nl) n, wigschrift n
• French: cunéiforme (fr)
• Galician: cuneiforme (gl)
• Georgian: ლურსმული (lursmuli), სოლისებრი (solisebri)
• German: keilschriftlich
• Greek: σφηνοειδής (el) (sfinoeidís)
• Hungarian: ékírásos (hu)
• Italian: cuneiforme (it) m or f
• Polish: klinowy (pl)
• Romanian: cuneiform (ro) m or n
• Russian: клинопи́сный (ru) (klinopísnyj)
• Spanish: cuneiforme (es)
• Swedish: kilskrift (sv)
• Ukrainian: клинопи́сний (klynopýsnyj)

Noun

cuneiform (plural cuneiforms)

2. An ancient Mesopotamian writing system, adapted within several language families, originating as pictograms in Sumer around the 30th century BC, evolving into more abstract and characteristic wedge shapes formed by a blunt reed stylus on clayen tablets.
3. (anatomy) A wedge-shaped bone, especially a cuneiform bone.

Synonyms

• wedge-writing

 

Derived terms

• cuneiformist

 

Translations

ancient writing system

• Afrikaans: spykerskrif, wigskrif
• Arabic: مِسْمَارِيَّة (mismāriyya)
• Armenian: սեպագիր (hy) (sepagir), բեւեռագիր (hy) (beweṙagir)
• Belarusian: клінапіс (klinapis)
• Bengali: কিউনিফর্ম (kiuniphormo)
• Bulgarian: клинопи́с m (klinopís)
• Catalan: cuneïforme (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 楔形文字 (sit³ jing⁴ man⁴ zi⁶), 釘頭文字／钉头文字 (ding¹ tau⁴ man⁴ zi⁶, deng¹ tau⁴ man⁴ zi⁶), 箭頭文字／箭头文字 (zin³ tau⁴ man⁴ zi⁶), 楔形字 (sit³ jing⁴ zi⁶), 釘頭字／钉头字 (ding¹ tau⁴ zi⁶, deng¹ tau⁴ zi⁶), 箭頭字／箭头字 (zin³ tau⁴ zi⁶)

  Hokkien: teng-á-jī

  Mandarin: 楔形文字 (zh) (xiēxíng wénzì), 釘頭文字／钉头文字 (dīngtóu wénzì), 箭頭文字／箭头文字 (jiàntóu wénzì), 楔形字 (xiēxíngzì), 釘頭字／钉头字 (dīngtóuzì), 箭頭字／箭头字 (jiàntóuzì)

• Czech: klínové písmo n
• Danish: kileskrift c
• Dutch: spijkerschrift (nl) n, wigschrift n
• Esperanto: kojnoskribo
• Finnish: nuolenpääkirjoitus (fi)
• French: cunéiforme (fr) m
• Galician: cuneiforme (gl)
• Georgian: სოლისებრი დამწერლობა (solisebri damc̣erloba), ლურსმული დამწერლობა (lursmuli damc̣erloba)
• German: Keilschrift (de) f
• Greek: σφηνοειδής γραφή f (sfinoeidís grafí)
• Hebrew: כְּתַב יְתֵדוֹת m (ktav yetedót)
• Hindi: अंकन (hi) (aṅkan), क्यूनिफार्म (kyūniphārm), कोलाक्षर (hi) m (kolākṣar), कीलाक्षर m (kīlākṣar)
• Hungarian: ékírás (hu)
• Icelandic: fleygrúnir f pl, fleygletur n
• Japanese: 楔形文字 (ja) (kusabigata moji)
• Korean: 쐐기문자 (sswaegimunja), 설형문자(楔形文字) (ko) (seolhyeongmunja)
• Latvian: ķīļraksts (lv) m
• Macedonian: клинесто писмо n (klinesto pismo)
• Persian: میخی (fa) (mixi)
• Polish: pismo klinowe n
• Portuguese: cuneiforme (pt) m
• Russian: кли́нопись (ru) f (klínopisʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: klinasto pismo n
• Slovene: klinopis (sl) m
• Spanish: escritura cuneiforme f
• Swedish: kilskrift (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: çivi yazısı (tr)
• Ukrainian: кли́нопис m (klýnopys)
• Vietnamese: chữ hình nêm

wedge-shaped bone

• Catalan: cuneïforme (ca) m
• Finnish: kiilamainen luu (wedge-shaped bone in general); vaajaluu (fi) (cuneiform bone)
• French: os cunéiforme (fr) m
• Galician: cuneiforme (gl)
• Greek: σφηνοειδής (el) f (sfinoeidís)
• Macedonian: клинеста коска f (klinesta koska)
• Portuguese: cuneiforme (pt) m
• Russian: клинови́дная кость (ru) f (klinovídnaja kostʹ)
• Spanish: (hueso) cuneiforme m
• Swedish: kilben n

See also

• Akkadian, Accadian
• Old Persian
• Ugaritic

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French cunéiforme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku.nei̯ˈform/

Adjective

cuneiform m or n (feminine singular cuneiformă, masculine plural cuneiformi, feminine and neuter plural cuneiforme)

1. cuneiform

Declension

Declension of cuneiform

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	cuneiform		cuneiformă	cuneiformi	cuneiforme
	definite	cuneiformul		cuneiforma	cuneiformii	cuneiformele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	cuneiform		cuneiforme	cuneiformi	cuneiforme
	definite	cuneiformului		cuneiformei	cuneiformilor	cuneiformelor

Further reading

• cuneiform in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)