Link Centre Dictionary

uncial

un·cial

UK/ˈʌn.si.əl/ uncommon rare
adjective (1) noun (1)

adjective

1.

relating to or written in majuscule letters (which resemble modern capitals)

  • “uncial letters”

noun

1.

a style of orthography characterized by somewhat rounded capital letters; found especially in Greek and Latin manuscripts of the 4th to 8th centuries

Origin

Attested 1712, from Late Latin unciales (“uncials”), unciales litterae (“uncial letters”) (Jerome), plural of uncialis (“pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch”), from uncia (“one twelfth part, ounce, inch”). The literal meaning is unclear: some references indicate "inch-high letters", but see “Uncial script” in Wikipedia.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.