uncial

American  

[uhn-shee-uhl, -shuhl] / ˈʌn ʃi əl, -ʃəl /

adjective

1. designating, written in, or pertaining to a form of majuscule writing having a curved or rounded shape and used chiefly in Greek and Latin manuscripts from about the 3rd to the 9th century a.d.

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noun

1. an uncial letter.

2. uncial writing.

3. a manuscript written in uncials.

uncial British  

/ ˈʌnsɪəl /

adjective

1. 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

2. pertaining to an inch or an ounce

3. pertaining to the duodecimal system

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noun

1. an uncial letter or manuscript

Other Word Forms

Derived 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

Some styles — Roman, Uncial, Carolingian, Gothic — date to the Middle Ages and earlier.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2011

Figure 45 shows a similar and modernized employment of a standard form of Uncial capital.

From Letters and Lettering A Treatise With 200 Examples by Brown, Frank Chouteau

We may now proceed to some specimen instances exhibiting the superiority of the Later Uncial and Cursive text.

From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Burgon, John William

Uncial letters, 45, 76, 84, 92, 128; Gothic, 139; meta forms of, 140; pen forms of, 140; stone-cut, 140; stone and marble, 139.

From Letters and Lettering A Treatise With 200 Examples by Brown, Frank Chouteau

Roman forms, Gothic Spirit in, 84; Uncial, 128.

From Letters and Lettering A Treatise With 200 Examples by Brown, Frank Chouteau

Related Words

• sign