"black letter" meaning in English

See black letter in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: black letters [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} black letter (countable and uncountable, plural black letters)
  1. (calligraphy) A highly calligraphic Western European script style used from approximately 1150. Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (topical): Calligraphy
    Sense id: en-black_letter-en-noun-Y~BpEFSr Topics: arts, calligraphy, communications, journalism, literature, media, publishing, writing
  2. (typography) A Northern European style of type, with contrasting thick-and-thin, angular strokes forming upright letterforms, and usually set with a dark typographic colour on the page. Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (topical): Typography Synonyms: Gothic Translations (a Northern-European style of type): frakturo (Esperanto), goottilainen kirjaintyyli (Finnish), fraktuura (Finnish), Fraktur (French), Bruchschrift [feminine] (German), gebrochene Schrift [feminine] (German), Fraktur [feminine] (German), gotische Schrift [feminine] (German), gót betű (Hungarian), gotyk [masculine] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-black_letter-en-noun-en:typography Topics: media, publishing, typography Disambiguation of 'a Northern-European style of type': 34 61 2 3
  3. Text set in black-letter type. Tags: countable, uncountable Synonyms: blackletter, black-letter Hyponyms: bastarda, fraktur, Old English, quadrata, rotunda, Schwabacher, textura Derived forms: black-letter law Coordinate_terms: antiqua, whiteletter Translations (text set in black-letter type): Frakturtext [masculine] (German)
    Sense id: en-black_letter-en-noun-xOnftRAL Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 13 26 55 6 Disambiguation of 'text set in black-letter type': 4 5 90 1
  4. (law) The basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute. Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (topical): Law
    Sense id: en-black_letter-en-noun-INuZL~cs Topics: law

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for black letter meaning in English (6.4kB)

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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "black letters",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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        "(calligraphy) A highly calligraphic Western European script style used from approximately 1150."
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        "uncountable"
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          "ref": "2002, Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (version 2.5), Vancouver: Hartley & Marks, page 103",
          "text": "The original boldface printing types are the blackletters used by Gutenberg in the 1440s. For the next two centuries, blackletter fonts were widely used not only in Germany but in France, Spain, the Netherlands and Engand.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
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          "contrasting",
          "contrasting"
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        [
          "stroke",
          "stroke"
        ],
        [
          "letterform",
          "letterform"
        ],
        [
          "set",
          "set"
        ],
        [
          "colour",
          "colour"
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        "(typography) A Northern European style of type, with contrasting thick-and-thin, angular strokes forming upright letterforms, and usually set with a dark typographic colour on the page."
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      "topics": [
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      "translations": [
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "word": "frakturo"
        },
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "word": "goottilainen kirjaintyyli"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "word": "fraktuura"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "word": "Fraktur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Bruchschrift"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "tags": [
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          ],
          "word": "gebrochene Schrift"
        },
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "Fraktur"
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "gotische Schrift"
        },
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
          "word": "gót betű"
        },
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          "_dis1": "34 61 2 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "antiqua"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "whiteletter"
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      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "black-letter law"
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        "Text set in black-letter type."
      ],
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "bastarda"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "fraktur"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "Old English"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "quadrata"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "rotunda"
        },
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "Schwabacher"
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          "_dis1": "0 23 77 0",
          "word": "textura"
        }
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      "id": "en-black_letter-en-noun-xOnftRAL",
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          "_dis1": "0 24 76 0",
          "word": "blackletter"
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          "_dis1": "0 24 76 0",
          "word": "black-letter"
        }
      ],
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      "translations": [
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          "_dis1": "4 5 90 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "text set in black-letter type",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
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          "word": "Frakturtext"
        }
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          "name": "Law",
          "orig": "en:Law",
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            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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        }
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          "ref": "2020, Katharina Pistor, “5: Enclosing Nature's Code”, in The Code of Capital […], Princeton University Press",
          "text": "[The US Supreme Court] did not raise the fundamental normative question of the patent-ability of genes. Instead, it took a black letter approach to interpreting the Patent Act, which had first been enacted in 1790, and which in its current form states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
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        "The basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute."
      ],
      "id": "en-black_letter-en-noun-INuZL~cs",
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        "(law) The basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "law"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Blackletter"
  ],
  "word": "black letter"
}
{
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      "word": "quadrata"
    },
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      "word": "rotunda"
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      "word": "Schwabacher"
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    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
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      "glosses": [
        "A highly calligraphic Western European script style used from approximately 1150."
      ],
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        "(typography) A Northern European style of type, with contrasting thick-and-thin, angular strokes forming upright letterforms, and usually set with a dark typographic colour on the page."
      ],
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      "synonyms": [
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          "text": "[The US Supreme Court] did not raise the fundamental normative question of the patent-ability of genes. Instead, it took a black letter approach to interpreting the Patent Act, which had first been enacted in 1790, and which in its current form states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.”",
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "blackletter"
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    {
      "word": "black-letter"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "word": "frakturo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "word": "goottilainen kirjaintyyli"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "word": "fraktuura"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "word": "Fraktur"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Bruchschrift"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "gebrochene Schrift"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Fraktur"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "gotische Schrift"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "word": "gót betű"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a Northern-European style of type",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "gotyk"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "text set in black-letter type",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Frakturtext"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Blackletter"
  ],
  "word": "black letter"
}
{
  "called_from": "linkages/371",
  "msg": "unrecognized linkage prefix: (typeface): bastarda, fraktur, Old English, quadrata, rotunda, Schwabacher, textura desc=typeface rest=bastarda, fraktur, Old English, quadrata, rotunda, Schwabacher, textura cls=romanization cls2=romanization e1=True e2=False",
  "path": [
    "black letter"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "black letter",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "linkages/371",
  "msg": "unrecognized linkage prefix: (typeface): antiqua, whiteletter desc=typeface rest=antiqua, whiteletter cls=romanization cls2=romanization e1=True e2=False",
  "path": [
    "black letter"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "black letter",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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