majuscule
Americanadjective
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(of letters) capital.
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large, as either capital or uncial letters.
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written in such letters (opposed to minuscule).
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of majuscule
1720–30; < Latin majuscula ( littera ) a somewhat bigger (letter), equivalent to majus-, stem of major major + -cula -cule 1
Explanation
A majuscule is just a capital letter — or a term for large script in which every letter is the same height. Now you know what your friend meant when she told you to write your lemonade stand sign in majuscule. The term majuscule was originally used in the 18th century for an uppercase letter, from the Latin maiusculus, "somewhat larger," a close relative of major. Its antonym, minuscule, is much more commonly used today. You can feel free to impress your friends by using it for capital letters: "I wrote my whole essay using majuscule to make it look more impressive."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Majuscule, mā-jus′kūl, n. in paleography, a capital or uncial letter:—opp. to Minuscule.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Majuscule, a capital letter found in old Latin MSS. in and before the 6th century.
From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
