Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hieroglyph \Hi"er*o*glyph\, Hieroglyphic \Hi`er*o*glyph"ic\, n.
   [Cf. F. hi['e]roglyphe. See {Hieroglyphic}, a.]
   1. A sacred character; a character in picture writing, as of
      the ancient Egyptians, Mexicans, etc. Specifically, in the
      plural, the picture writing of the ancient Egyptian
      priests. It is made up of three, or, as some say, four
      classes of characters: first, the hieroglyphic proper, or
      figurative, in which the representation of the object
      conveys the idea of the object itself; second, the
      ideographic, consisting of symbols representing ideas, not
      sounds, as an ostrich feather is a symbol of truth; third,
      the phonetic, consisting of symbols employed as syllables
      of a word, or as letters of the alphabet, having a certain
      sound, as a hawk represented the vowel a.

   2. Any character or figure which has, or is supposed to have,
      a hidden or mysterious significance; hence, any
      unintelligible or illegible character or mark. [Colloq.]

Source : WordNet®

hieroglyph
     n 1: writing that resembles hieroglyphics (usually by being
          illegible) [syn: {hieroglyphic}]
     2: a writing system using picture symbols; used in ancient
        Egypt [syn: {hieroglyphic}]