Rosetta stone
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.
a clue, breakthrough, or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of a puzzle or problem.
Words Nearby Rosetta stone
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Rosetta stone in a sentence
Clearly, someone in the Lavigne camp figured out that remixing Rosetta stone with an EDM beat would result in an insta-classic.
Avril Lavigne’s Dumb ‘Hello Kitty’ Video Is Rife with Cultural Appropriation | Amy Zimmerman | April 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd 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.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt | Lewis SpenceIn 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.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) Ogden
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.
British Dictionary definitions for Rosetta stone
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 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Rosetta stone
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.
Notes for Rosetta stone
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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