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Rosetta stone

 Origin

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.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
Rosetta stone
 
—n
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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

Rosetta Stone
discovered 1798 at Rosetta, Egypt; now in British Museum. Dating to 2c. B.C.E., its trilingual inscription helped Jean-François Champollion decipher Egyptian demotic and hieroglyphics in 1822, which opened the way to study of all early Egyptian records. Hence, fig. use for "something which provides
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the key to previously unattainable understanding" (1902).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

Rosetta stone definition


A stone discovered in 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.

Note: A “Rosetta stone” is the key to understanding a complex problem.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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