hi|er|at|ic

hi|er|at|ic «_HY uh RAT ihk», adjective.

1. of or having to do with the priestly class; used by the priestly class; priestly. SYNONYM(S): sacerdotal.

2. of or having to do with a form of Egyptian writing used by the early priests in their records. Hieratic writing is a simplified form of hieroglyphics.

3. of or having to do with certain styles in art, such as the Egyptian or Greek, in which earlier types or methods, fixed by religious tradition, are conventionally followed.

╂[< Latin hierāticus < Greek hierātikós, ultimately < hierós sacred]

–hi´er|at´i|cal|ly, adverb.