cursive

[ kur-siv ]

/ ˈkɜr sɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cursive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

(of handwriting) in flowing strokes with the letters joined together.

Printing. in flowing strokes resembling handwriting.

noun

a cursive letter or character.

Printing. a style of typeface simulating handwriting.

Nearby words

Origin of cursive

1775–85; < Medieval Latin cursīvus flowing (said of penmanship), equivalent to Latin curs(us) (past participle of currere to run) + -īvus -ive

Related forms

cur·sive·ly, adverbcur·sive·ness, nounnon·cur·sive, adjectivenon·cur·sive·ly, adverb

trans·cur·sive, adjectivetrans·cur·sive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cursive

My Facebook page still reflects that—Modest Mouse and Cursive and El-P.
How to Stay on Facebook and Protect Your Privacy at the Same Time|Jesse Singal|July 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“Slurring is the cursive of speech,” Katey tells a drunken dinner-party companion one night.
Great Weekend Reads|Malcolm Jones, Matt Gallagher, Saul Austerlitz, Sharon Steel|September 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In the cursive form it becomes , and this was frequently used for two in Germany until the 18th century.
The Hindu-Arabic Numerals|David Eugene Smith
Handprinting doesn't always give the same amount of information about writing habit as does cursive writing.
Warren Commission (4 of 26): Hearings Vol. IV (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

A cursive semicolon is an old-style semicolon somewhat resembling a handwritten z. Supralinear means directly over a letter.
The Art or Crafte of Rhetoryke|Leonard Cox
These cursive characters possessed one advantage: they were capable of considerable abbreviation within certain limits.
Japan|Various
It seems evident that the Chinese four, curiously enough called "eight in the mouth," is only a cursive .
The Hindu-Arabic Numerals|David Eugene Smith

British Dictionary definitions for cursive

cursive

/ (ˈkɜːsɪv) /

adjective

of or relating to handwriting in which letters are formed and joined in a rapid flowing style

printing of or relating to typefaces that resemble handwriting

noun

a cursive letter or printing type

a manuscript written in cursive letters

Derived Formscursively, adverb

Word Origin for cursive

C18: from Medieval Latin cursīvus running, ultimately from Latin currere to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cursive

cursive

adj.

1784, from French cursif (18c.), from Medieval Latin cursivus "running," from Latin cursus "a running," from past participle of currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). The notion is of "written with a running hand" (without raising the pen), originally as opposed to the older uncial hand.