Rosetta stone

noun

1. a stone slab, found in 1799 near Rosetta, bearing parallel inscriptions in Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphic, and demotic characters, making possible the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

2. a clue, breakthrough, or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of a puzzle or problem.

Rosetta stone

noun

1. a basalt slab discovered in 1799 at Rosetta, dating to the reign of Ptolemy V (196 _bc ) and carved with parallel inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek, which provided the key to the decipherment of ancient Egyptian texts

Rosetta stone

1. A stone discovered in Egypt (see also Egypt) in the late eighteenth century, inscribed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and a translation of them in Greek. The stone proved to be the key to understanding Egyptian writing.

A “Rosetta stone” is the key to understanding a complex problem.

Example Sentences

In hindsight, the moment feels like a Rosetta Stone for his political aesthetics: a kind of populist cosplay that collapses grandeur and banality into the same tableau.

From Salon

To this day, there remains no better Rosetta stone for deciphering the Nirvana generation’s view of work than 1999’s “Office Space,” Mike Judge’s paean to the plight of the X-er cubicle drone.

From Salon

To this day, there remains no better Rosetta stone for deciphering the Nirvana generation’s view of work than 1999’s “Office Space.”

From Salon

If I was looking at 2025’s Rosetta Stone, after all, it was not likely to be highly melanated.

From Slate

The British Museum - which holds items including the Rosetta Stone, the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo and the contested Parthenon Sculptures - sees millions of people go through its doors each year to see the permanent collections and exhibitions.

From BBC