English
uncial
Uncial comes from Late Latin unciales ‘uncials’, from uncialis ‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ís ‘this, he’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ís1‘this, he’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos1‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinos1‘one’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ὀγκία
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinos1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnus1‘one’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicus1‘unique’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncia2‘one twelfth part, ounce, inch’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncialis2‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEunciales2‘uncials’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886uncial2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin uncia
- 2 Wiktionary, English uncial
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “This, also written in black letter, we found inscribed…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ísWiktionary, Latin uncia‘this, he’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynosWiktionary, Latin uncia‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinosWiktionary, Latin uncia‘one’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ὀγκία
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEoinosWiktionary, Latin uncia
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnusWiktionary, Latin uncia‘one’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūnicusWiktionary, Latin uncia‘unique’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEunciaWiktionary, English uncial‘one twelfth part, ounce, inch’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncialisWiktionary, English uncial‘pertaining to one twelfth part, ounce, or inch’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEuncialesWiktionary, English uncial‘uncials’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886uncialWiktionary, English uncial. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “uncial”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin uncia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ís / uncial