un·cialalso Un·cial (ŭn′shəl, -sē-əl)
Of or relating to a style of writing characterized by somewhat rounded capital letters and found especially in Greek and Latin manuscripts of the fourth to the eighth century ad.
1. A style of writing characterized by somewhat rounded capital letters. It provided the model from which most of the capital letters in the modern Latin alphabet are derived.
2. A capital letter written in this style.
[From Late Latin ūnciālēs (litterae), inch-high (letters), uncials, pl. of Latin ūnciālis, inch-high, from ūncia, a twelfth part, ounce, inch; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
1. (Letters of the Alphabet (Foreign)) 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. (Units) pertaining to an inch or an ounce
3. (Mathematics) pertaining to the duodecimal system
(Letters of the Alphabet (Foreign)) an uncial letter or manuscript
[C17: from Late Latin unciāles litterae letters an inch long, from Latin unciālis, from uncia one twelfth, inch, ounce1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
un•ci•al(ˈʌn ʃi əl, -ʃəl)
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.n.
2. an uncial letter.
3. uncial writing.
4. a manuscript written in uncials.
[1640–50; < Late Latin unciālēs (litterae) (Jerome) uncial (letters), pl. of Latin unciālis weighing one twelfth of a libra (see ounce1, -al1); literal sense is unclear]