Hieratic (from the Greek meaning "sacred") is a cursive script of Egyptian hieroglyphs first used during the 1st Dynasty (c. 2925 BC - c. 2775 BC). Hieratic script was almost always written in ink with a reed pen on papyrus. After about 660 BC, the Demotic script (demotic is from the Greek meaning "of the people" or "popular") replaced hieratic in most secular writing, but hieratic continued to be used by priests for several more centuries.

The modern figurative use of 'hieratic' refers to the language of the highly educated elite in comparison with the language of the masses (see demotic).

See also

• Coptic alphabet
• Coptic language
• Demotic
• Egyptian hieroglyph
• Egyptian languages
• Egyptian numerals
• Transliteration of ancient Egyptian

External links

• Basic Lessons in Hieratic

Ancient Egyptian language | Egyptian languages | Writing systems

Йератическа писменост | Hieratische Schrift | Hierático | Hiératique | Hierático | 신관문자 | Scrittura ieratica | כתב היראטי | Hiëratisch schrift | ヒエラティック | Hieratyka | Иератическое письмо