Blissymbols

B3L1I1S1S1Y4M3B3O1L1S1

proper noun

A constructed language with only a written form, using ideographs invented by Charles K. Bliss after the Second World War.

Similar
Blissymbolics
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A constructed language with only a written form, using ideographs invented by Charles K. Bliss after the Second World War.

    In the 1970s, disabled people who couldn't write or speak—such as those with cerebral palsy—used Blissymbols to communicate by point to the drawings on a large board. It was time-consuming and required a person who knew Blissymbols to help translate.

    2020, Carla Sinclair, Girl Genius, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 139

    Synonyms: Blissymbolics

noun
  1. pluralplural of Blissymbol

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA constructed language with only a written form, using ideographs invented by Charles K. Bliss after the Second World War.

Similar
Blissymbolics
Also see
blissymbolics

Origin

Blend of Bliss + symbols.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish bliss-kieli
  • bliss-kieliconstructed language
German Bliss-Symbole
  • Bliss-Symboleconstructed language
Irish siombailí Bliss
  • siombailí Blissconstructed language
Japanese ブリスシンボル
  • ブリスシンボルconstructed language
Cite this entry
APA

Blissymbols. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Blissymbols

MLA

“Blissymbols.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Blissymbols. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Blissymbols,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Blissymbols.

Source: Blissymbols on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.