English
uncial
Uncial comes from Late Latin unciales ‘uncials’, from uncialis ‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinos‘one’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ὀγκία
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinos
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnus‘one’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicus‘unique’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncia‘one twelfth part, ounce, inch’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEuncialis‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEunciales‘uncials’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886uncial
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinos‘one’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ὀγκία
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinos
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnus‘one’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicus‘unique’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncia‘one twelfth part, ounce, inch’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEuncialis‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEunciales‘uncials’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886uncial
Earliest quotation: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “This, also written in black letter, we found inscribed…”
The story
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.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ís ‘this, he’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’
an, one, no, only, any, none, 19 more
through Proto-Italic *oinos ‘one’
through Old Latin oinos
through Latin ūnus ‘one’
union, universal, unite, uno, triune, 14 more
through Latin ūnicus ‘unique’
through Late Latin uncia ‘one twelfth part, ounce, inch’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to a majuscule style of writing with unjoined, rounded letters, originally used in the 4th–9th centuries.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos / uncial