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Rosetta Stone

Syllabification: (Ro·set·ta Stone)
Pronunciation: /rōˈzetə/

Definition of Rosetta Stone
  • an inscribed stone found near Rosetta on the western mouth of the Nile in 1799. Its text is written in three scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. The deciphering of the hieroglyphs by Jean-François Champollion in 1822 led to the interpretation of many other early records of Egyptian civilization.
  • (as noun a Rosetta stone) a key to some previously undecipherable mystery or unattainable understanding.

Rosetta Stone in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of Rosetta Stone in the British & World English dictionary