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block letter

 
Dictionary: block letter

n.
  1. A plain capital letter written or printed unjoined to a following or preceding letter.
  2. Printing.
    1. A sans-serif style of type.
    2. A letter printed or written sans serif.

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WordNet: block letter
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a plain hand-drawn letter
  Synonym: block capital


Wikipedia: Block letters
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Writing in block letters (also known as printing), is use of the simple letters children are taught to write when first learning. These letters have no serifs and are upright. Deriving from this usage, “block letters” refers to any crude serif or sans-serif font that is formed by cutting a material such as wood or metal without the finer-artistry sophistication usually associated with professional type design in typography.

On official forms, when one is asked to write one's name, the request is usually made to write entirely in block capital letters. This is because cursive handwriting, and especially signatures, can be hard to read. It is often misconstrued that one must write in capital letters when writing in block letters. Contrary to popular belief, and requests from Treasury, block letters can be written in both upper and lower case, at the writer's discretion. Cases such as Fossil Inc v The Fossil Group involving patents, trademarks and registration of designs clearly indicate that block letters may comprise either lower or upper case.


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Block letters" Read more