uncial
Americanadjective
noun
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an uncial letter.
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uncial writing.
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a manuscript written in uncials.
adjective
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of, relating to, or written in majuscule letters, as used in Greek and Latin manuscripts of the third to ninth centuries, that resemble modern capitals, but are characterized by much greater curvature and inclination and general inequality of height
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pertaining to an inch or an ounce
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pertaining to the duodecimal system
noun
Other Word Forms
- uncially adverb
Etymology
Origin of uncial
1640–50; < Late Latin unciālēs ( litterae ) (Jerome) uncial (letters), plural of Latin unciālis weighing one twelfth of a libra ( see uncia, -al 1); literal sense is unclear
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.
And a word, written in black letter, uncial, Copperplate Script, Roman capitals, or even the “Star Wars” font by a professional, has all the virtues of those far more complicated handmade things.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 5, 2015
But visitors are just as likely to be impressed by the book’s ravishing script, a bold fusion of Roman and Celtic lettering, known as English uncial, that jumps right off the page.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2014
As evidence of the fragments' early origins, Thiede notes that the handwriting on the Magdalen Papyrus is in a style known as uncial, which began to die out in the middle of the 1st century.
From Time Magazine Archive
This happens chiefly in cases when the uncial or capital letters in which the oldest manuscripts are written resemble each other, except in some fine stroke which may have decayed through age.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
Unc., orn., the uncials leaning to the right, a fine copy, with small uncial notes, well meriting collation.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
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.
