Spencerian

¹ American  

[spen-seer-ee-uhn] / spɛnˈsɪər i ən /

adjective

1. of Herbert Spencer or his philosophy.

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noun

1. a follower of Herbert Spencer.

Spencerian ² American  

[spen-seer-ee-uhn] / spɛnˈsɪər i ən /

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of a system of penmanship, characterized by clear, rounded letters slanting to the right.

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Etymology

Origin of Spencerian¹

First recorded in 1885–90; Spencer ² + -ian

Origin of Spencerian²

1875–80; P. R. Spencer ² + -ian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Spencerian

And the 14-page handwritten document went on, in exquisite Spencerian script, to create what experts say are the crucial foundations of the modern game of “base ball.”

From Washington Post ● May 18, 2018

Today the postal service may return a letter addressed in Spencerian penmanship, if it’s deemed illegible and thus undeliverable.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2017

The first of these, Spencerian copperplate, was modeled on engraving and was thought—like so many things during that period—to engender moral uplift.

From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2012

He also wrote out the name in the then-fashionable ornate style of lettering called Spencerian Script.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2011

It is simply a further development of a classic style, a further specialisation, the homogeneous, in Spencerian phraseology, having become heterogeneous.

From Unicorns by James Huneker