majuscule

noun

ma·​jus·​cule ˈma-jə-ˌskyül 

mə-ˈjə-

: a large letter (such as a capital)

majuscular

mə-ˈjə-skyə-lər 

adjective

majuscule adjective

Did you know?

Majuscule looks like the complement to minuscule, and the resemblance is no coincidence. Minuscule appeared in the early 18th century as a word for a lowercase letter, then later as the word for certain ancient and medieval writing styles which had "small forms." Minuscule then acquired a more general adjectival use for anything very small. Majuscule is the counterpart to minuscule when it comes to letters, but it never developed a broader sense (despite the fact that its Latin ancestor majusculus has the broad meaning "rather large"). The adjective majuscule also exists, as does its synonym majuscular. Not surprisingly, the adjectives share the noun's specificity, referring only to large letters or to a style using such letters.

Examples of majuscule in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Arakawa’s pencil and watercolor piece features rows of cryptic, blocky majuscules that declare TO THAT SLICE OF PARADOX WHICH MAY BECOME APPARENT WHEN THE UNRECOGNIZABLE TEMPERATURE CLEAVES THAT WHICH CLEAVES TO IT. —Jenny Wu, ARTnews.com, 6 Nov. 2024

At this point, the Roman alphabet was a dual system: Each letter had two forms, the majuscule (A, B) and minuscule (a, b), and scribes were in the habit of making some letters bigger than others – setting the stage for the development of capitalization. —Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

French, from Latin majusculus rather large, diminutive of major

First Known Use

1722, in the meaning defined above

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