Rosetta Stone

proper noun

A large inscribed stone found near Rosetta, Egypt, in 1799, later used as a basis for understanding many previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writing.

“My friend’s carefully-compiled notebook was the Rosetta Stone that opened up understanding of the physics lectures.”

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Meanings

proper nounthe Rosetta Stone
  1. A large inscribed stone found near Rosetta, Egypt, in 1799, later used as a basis for understanding many previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writing.
  2. broadlyAny source of information crucial to interpreting.

    My friend’s carefully-compiled notebook was the Rosetta Stone that opened up understanding of the physics lectures.

    1 more example

    Deputy team leader Larry Soderblom and team member Carl Sagan argued that the surfaces of these satellites, in their cratering history, would be a Rosetta stone for understanding the early years of the outer solar system.

    1990 August, Bradford A. Smith, “Voyage of the Century”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 53

Translations

Afrikaans Rosettasteen
  • Rosettasteenlarge inscribed stone
Arabic حَجَر رَشِيد
  • حَجَر رَشِيد (ḥajar rašīd)large inscribed stone
Basque Rosetta harri
  • Rosetta harrilarge inscribed stone
Bulgarian Розетски камък
  • Розетски камък (Rozetski kamăk)large inscribed stone
Catalan Pedra de Rosetta
  • Pedra de Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Chinese Cantonese 羅塞塔石碑 /罗塞塔石碑
  • 羅塞塔石碑 /罗塞塔石碑 (lo⁴ coi³ taap³ sek⁶ bei¹)large inscribed stone
Chinese Mandarin 羅塞塔石碑 /罗塞塔石碑
  • 羅塞塔石碑 /罗塞塔石碑 (Luósètǎ shíbēi)large inscribed stone
Danish Rosettastenen
  • Rosettastenenlarge inscribed stone
Dutch Steen van Rosette
  • Steen van Rosettelarge inscribed stone
Esperanto Rozeta ŝtono
  • Rozeta ŝtonolarge inscribed stone
Finnish Rosettan kivi
  • Rosettan kivilarge inscribed stone
French Pierre de Rosette
  • Pierre de Rosettelarge inscribed stone
German Stein von Rosette
  • Stein von Rosettelarge inscribed stone
Greek Στήλη της Ροζέττας
  • Στήλη της Ροζέττας (Stíli tis Rozéttas)large inscribed stone
Hebrew אבן רוזטה
  • אבן רוזטהlarge inscribed stone
Hungarian rosette-i kő
  • rosette-i kőlarge inscribed stone
Indonesian Batu Rosetta
  • Batu Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Italian Stele di Rosetta
  • Stele di Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Japanese ロゼッタ・ストーン
  • ロゼッタ・ストーン (Rozetta-sutōn)large inscribed stone
Korean 로제타석
  • 로제타석 (Rojeta-seok)large inscribed stone
Malay Batu Rosetta
  • Batu Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Norwegian Bokmål Rosettastenen
  • Rosettastenenlarge inscribed stone
Persian سنگ رشید
  • سنگ رشید (sang-e rašid)large inscribed stone
Polish Kamień z Rosetty
  • Kamień z Rosettylarge inscribed stone
Portuguese Pedra de Roseta
  • Pedra de Rosetalarge inscribed stone
Romanian Piatra din Rosetta
  • Piatra din Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Russian розе́ттский ка́мень
  • розе́ттский ка́мень (rozéttskij kámenʹ)large inscribed stone
Slovak Rosettská doska
  • Rosettská doskalarge inscribed stone
Spanish Piedra de Rosetta
  • Piedra de Rosettalarge inscribed stone
Swedish Rosettastenen
  • Rosettastenenlarge inscribed stone
Thai ศิลาโรเซตตา
  • ศิลาโรเซตตา (sì-laa rohsêtdtaa)large inscribed stone
Turkish Rosetta Taşı
  • Rosetta Taşılarge inscribed stone
Cite this entry
APA

Rosetta Stone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosetta%20Stone

MLA

“Rosetta Stone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosetta%20Stone. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Rosetta Stone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosetta%20Stone.

Source: Rosetta Stone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.