hieros

Hieros is an Ancient Greek word meaning sacred or holy. Used as an adjective, it describes things dedicated to the gods or set apart for cultic use. In grammatical terms, the related noun hieron referred to a temple or sacred place, and the term appears in other forms connected to sacred matters. The root ἱερός is the source of many Greek religious terms and compounds that entered later scientific and scholarly vocabulary.

In English, hieros survives primarily as a linguistic root in a broad family of words connected with sacred or priestly functions. Common examples include hieroglyph, hieratic, hierophant, and hierarchy. Hieroglyph combines hieros with glypho, “to carve,” denoting sacred or carved inscriptions. Hieratic refers to a priestly or sacred script or style. Hierophant literally means the one who reveals sacred things. Hierarchy denotes a sacred order or a rank-structured system believed to reflect a divinely ordained arrangement. Other related terms such as hierodule (a temple servant) and hierology (the study of sacred matters) illustrate the semantic reach of the root.

Overview and usage: Hieros functions primarily as an etymological root in discussions of ancient Greek religion and in the etymology of modern religious and scholarly terms. It is not commonly used as a standalone word in contemporary English outside of academic or etymological contexts, but its influence is evident in the widespread use of hier- in words related to sacredness, ritual, and priesthood.