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History vocabulary · Sources and Archives

Inscription

Meaning in history, with examples

/ɪnˈskrɪpʃn/nounCommon term

In history, inscription means: Words carved, cut or painted on stone, metal, a building or another hard surface, often to record a ruler's deeds, a law, a dedication or a burial.

In Turkish: yazıt, kitabe

How it is used

Inscriptions are carved, discovered, read, deciphered and translated; their study is called epigraphy. Famous examples include the Orkhon inscriptions and the Rosetta Stone. On Ottoman buildings a foundation inscription (kitabe) gives the date and the patron.

Example sentences

  1. The Orkhon inscriptions, carved in the eighth century, are among the earliest known texts in a Turkic language.

  2. The inscription above the gate gives the date of construction as 1557.

Common collocations

  • a Latin inscription
  • carved inscription
  • foundation inscription
  • decipher an inscription
  • the Orkhon inscriptions
  • archaeologyThe study of the human past through the material remains people left behind, such as buildings, tools, pottery, bones and traces in the soil.
  • manuscriptA book or document written by hand, especially one produced before printing became common; also an author's text before it is published.
  • primary sourceEvidence created at the time being studied or by people who witnessed it, such as letters, diaries, official records, photographs or objects.
  • artifactAn object made or shaped by people, such as a tool, coin, weapon or piece of jewellery, especially one studied for what it reveals about the past.

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