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Rosetta stone

noun

  1. a stone slab, found in 1799 near Rosetta, bearing parallel inscriptions in Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphic, and demotic characters, making possible the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
  2. a clue, breakthrough, or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of a puzzle or problem.


Rosetta stone

noun

  1. a basalt slab discovered in 1799 at Rosetta, dating to the reign of Ptolemy V (196 bc ) and carved with parallel inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek, which provided the key to the decipherment of ancient Egyptian texts


Rosetta stone

  1. A stone discovered in Egypt (see also Egypt ) in the late eighteenth century, inscribed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and a translation of them in Greek. The stone proved to be the key to understanding Egyptian writing.


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Notes

A “Rosetta stone” is the key to understanding a complex problem.

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Example Sentences

Clearly, someone in the Lavigne camp figured out that remixing Rosetta Stone with an EDM beat would result in an insta-classic.

And to those who have ever attempted to practice the art, it is the Rosetta Stone of political humor.

In 1821 came the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone by Champollion, and this added a new zest to exploration and collecting.

In Egypt we have had the luck to stumble on a clew, the Rosetta Stone, which makes the ancient writing fairly clear.

That had become a language to which he had found the Rosetta Stone; it was as plain to him now as Roman text.

This strong similitude,—as a Rosetta-stone,—led us to the first translation of the Architectural wonders.

Almost as interesting as the Rosetta Stone itself is the story of its discovery.

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