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Dictionary Language resources

uncial

Pronunciation: /ˈʌnsɪəl, -ʃ(ə)l/

Definition of uncial

adjective

1of or written in a majuscule script with rounded unjoined letters which is found in European manuscripts of the 4th-8th centuries and from which modern capital letters are derived.

2 rare relating to an inch or an ounce.

noun

an uncial letter or script.
a manuscript in uncial script.

Origin:

mid 17th century: from Latin uncialis, from uncia 'inch'. sense 1 of the adjective is in the late Latin sense of unciales litterae 'uncial letters', the original application of which is unclear