uncial

English

Etymology 1

Attested 1650, from Latin ū̆ncia (“a twelfth part, ounce, inch”) + -al.

Adjective

uncial (comparative more uncial, superlative most uncial)

1. (rare) Of or relating to an ounce, or an inch, especially to letters printed an inch high.

Etymology 2

Attested 1712, from Late Latin unciales (“uncials”), unciales litterae (“uncial letters”) (Jerome), plural of uncialis (“pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch”), from uncia (“one twelfth part, ounce, inch”). The literal meaning is unclear: some references indicate "inch-high letters", but see “Uncial script” in Wikipedia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʌn.si.əl/, /ˈʌn.ʃi.əl/, /ˈʌn.ʃəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: un‧ci‧al, un‧cial

Adjective

uncial (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to a majuscule style of writing with unjoined, rounded letters, originally used in the 4th–9th centuries.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     This, also written in black letter, we found inscribed on a second parchment that was in the coffer, apparently somewhat older in date than that on which was inscribed the mediæval Latin translation of the uncial Greek of which I shall speak presently.

Derived terms

• semiuncial
• uncialize
• uncially

Translations

of or related to uncial

• Finnish: unsiaalinen
• German: unzial (de)
• Polish: uncjalny
• Spanish: uncial (es)

Noun

uncial (plural uncials)

1. A style of writing using uncial letters.
2. A letter in this style.
3. A manuscript in this style.

Derived terms

• semi-uncial, half-uncial

Translations

style

• Finnish: unsiaali
• Italian: onciale
• Portuguese: uncial

letter

• Finnish: unsiaali
• Italian: onciale
• Portuguese: uncial

manuscript

• Finnish: unsiaali
• Italian: onciale
• Portuguese: uncial

Related terms

• uncia
• ounce
• inch

Anagrams

• Alcuin, Lucian, Lucina

Romanian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin uncia

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin uncialislbor.

Romanian uncial

Learned borrowing from Latin uncialis.

Adjective

uncial m or n (feminine singular uncială, masculine plural unciali, feminine/neuter plural unciale)

1. uncial

Declension

Declension of uncial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	uncial		uncială	unciali	unciale
	definite	uncialul		unciala	uncialii	uncialele
genitive- dative	indefinite	uncial		unciale	unciali	unciale
	definite	uncialului		uncialei	uncialilor	uncialelor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /unˈθjal/ [ũn̟ˈθjal] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /unˈsjal/ [ũnˈsjal] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: un‧cial

Adjective

uncial m or f (masculine and feminine plural unciales)

1. uncial

Noun

uncial f (plural unciales)

1. uncial

Further reading

• “uncial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025