1An inscribed stone found near Rosetta on the western mouth of the Nile in 1799. Its text is written in three scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. The deciphering of the hieroglyphs by Jean-François Champollion in 1822 led to the interpretation of many other early records of Egyptian civilization.

1. 1.1as noun a Rosetta stone A key to some previously undecipherable mystery or unattainable knowledge.
   理解疑难问题的关键
   zero point energy could be the Rosetta stone of physics

   零点能是理解物理学的关键。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • If you go to see the Rosetta stone, you have to get permission to sketch it.
   • Gaghan and I would remind ourselves every time we went through the script that the issue of control was our Rosetta stone.
   • If there is a Rosetta stone for deciphering Edwards' bold decision to seek the presidency and abandon the Senate after a single term on Capitol Hill, it is embedded in the way he has reacted to his son's death.
   • I have compared forensic work to an operational Rosetta stone, wherein differing languages might be translated back and forth.
   • On a table in his office, Pandit keeps a replica of the Rosetta stone, the key that enabled archaeologists finally to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.
   • Perhaps I should tell you the Rosetta stone of my personality.
   • The Rosetta disk expands on the parallel text structure of the original Rosetta stone by archiving five distinct linguistic components for each language on the disk.
   • The stone with the Germanic inscriptions was to be their Rosetta stone.
   • Since the discovery of the Rosetta stone Egyptian history has literally been spelled out for us.
   • The Rosetta stone, sculptures from the Parthenon and the Portland Vase are included in this museum.
   • The similar values may be a Rosetta stone that will serve to allow a common language to emerge regardless of where either group is, or is perceived to be, on the political spectrum.
   • As difficult as the encryption was, the engineer somehow felt that the Rosetta stone of the code would be something simple, if he could just determine what it was.
   • This little pot became the Rosetta stone for the identification of Gerverot's work.
   • It was a Rosetta stone that I would continually go back to when multiple issues from disparate groups clamored for priority.
   • It would have been a Rosetta stone in the right hands, but to him it was just another piece of possibly valuable scrap.
   • The British Museum has one of the largest and best archeological collections of worldwide artifacts, including the Rosetta stone and Lindow Man.
   • Since this example provides a clear indication that the tokens were ‘used for bookkeeping’, Schmandt-Besserat characterizes it as ‘the Rosetta stone of the token system’.
   • I made it to the museum, but the Rosetta stone was in some temporary exhibition which cost $5 to get in, so I didn't bother.
   • It's a little more of an addition, but I wouldn't say it is the Rosetta stone.