Hĭ'e-răt'ĭc, a.

a. [Gr. ἱερατικός, ἱερατεύειν, to be a priest; ἱερός, sacred; Lat. hieraticus, Fr. hiératique.] Consecrated to sacred uses; sacerdotal; pertaining to priests;—applied to a mode of ancient Egyptian writing, chiefly used in papyri, considered as a rapid mode of writing hieroglyphics, and being the sacerdotal character, as the demotic was that of the people.