cylinder seal

noun

: a cylinder (as of stone) engraved in intaglio and used especially in ancient Mesopotamia to roll an impression on wet clay

Examples of cylinder seal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web However, the museum's collection includes items like Mesopotamian cylinder seals from 3000-1000 BCE and a moveable type machine from Korea. Brittanie Shey, Chron, 28 Mar. 2023 The Sisters necklace is based on a motif from an ancient cylinder seal. Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023 In turn, Wengrow was impressed to meet an anthropologist who knew what a cylinder seal is. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022 This is evident in her Sisters collection, which features ancient femme sisters that the designer reimagined from an over 4,000-year-old Akkadian cylinder seal. Charlotte Diamond, Vogue, 24 June 2021 Near the body lay a cylinder seal that bore an inscription from which the archaeologists were able to identify the woman: Queen Puabi (in his notes, Woolley referred to her as Shubad because of a mistranslation). National Geographic, 22 May 2019 Despite being warned by an expert on cultural property law that the tablets and cylinder seals were likely to have been looted from Iraqi archaeological sites, Hobby Lobby bought thousands of artifacts, Donoghue said. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 May 2018 And there were 371 cylinder seals — small engraved stone cylinders that, when rolled on wet clay, create raised images that can include cuneiform writing or pictures. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 May 2018 The artifacts included cuneiform tablets, clay bullae, and cylinder seals. Natasha Bach, Fortune, 2 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cylinder seal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cylinder seal was in 1887

Dictionary Entries Near cylinder seal

Cite this Entry

“Cylinder seal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cylinder%20seal. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on cylinder seal

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!