uncial
/ˈʌn.si.əl/ adjective, noun
Forms uncials
- adjective (rare) Of or relating to an ounce, or an inch, especially to letters printed an inch high.
- adjective Of or relating to a majuscule style of writing with unjoined, rounded letters, originally used in the 4th–9th centuries.
- noun A style of writing using uncial letters.
- noun A letter in this style.
- noun A manuscript in this style.
Etymology
Attested 1650, from Latin ū̆ncia (“a twelfth part, ounce, inch”) + -al.
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.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of, pertaining to, or designating, a certain style of letters used in ancient manuscripts, esp. in Greek and Latin manuscripts. The letters are somewhat rounded, and the upstrokes and downstrokes usually have a slight inclination. These letters were used as early as the 1st century b. c., and were seldom used after the 10th century a. d., being superseded by the cursive style.
- noun An uncial letter.
Etymology [L. uncialis amounting to the twelfth part of a pound or a foot, from uncia the twelfth part of a pound or of a foot, an ounce, an inch: cf. F. oncial. See Inch a measure.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “uncial”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details