black letter

American  

noun

Printing.

1. a heavy-faced type in a style like that of early European hand lettering and the earliest printed books.

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black letter British  

noun

1. printing another name for Gothic

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Other Word Forms

• black-letter adjective

Etymology

Origin of black letter

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

Directly across from the local Chamber of Commerce’s “Welcome to Joshua Tree” sign on the Twentynine Palms Highway, a makeshift billboard declares “JTAM” in tall black letters set over a broad strip of limpid blue.

From Los Angeles Times

Even his shaved head is covered in the Gothic black letters long popular in Chicano culture that spell out: Family, Loyalty, L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

“It doesn’t say you have to go to court, you don’t have to do X, Y and Z; that’s what the black letter law says,” Sarega said.

From Los Angeles Times

So Friday morning, coach Sean McVay arrived at the team’s Woodland Hills facility with a message inscribed in black letters on a paperweight:

From Los Angeles Times

"Not only is this rule not authorized by existing law and is actually contrary to black letter Georgia law, but it presents very serious security and chain of custody concerns."

From Salon