fine printn.
/ˌfʌɪn ˈprɪnt/, U.S. /ˌfaɪn ˈprɪnt/ 1. Print of a fine or small type size; = small print n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > specific types of print
proclamation-print1592
Geneva print1606
fine print1761
black letter1811
newswork1820
hard dot1913
miniprint1975
1761 E. Ballard Bibliotheca Theologica 23 Common Prayer Book,..fine print, very neatly bound in blue Turkey, gilt leaves.
1793 Gentleman's Mag. 74 Suppl. 1177/1 Crown octavo..[for poetry] affords an amplitude of page for fine print, and a good margin.
1853 F. Humphreys Humphreys' Homeopathic Mentor 111 The eyes become dim..on endeavoring to sew, read or use fine print.
1916 Amer. Jrnl. Theol. June 296 Only he who has tried his hand at the publication of tables made up of numbers and fine print can have any adequate conception of the labor involved.
2008 N.Y. Times 8 Oct. d5/3 The code..is in fine print below the alcohol level.
2.
a. Detailed information supplementing or qualifying the principal text of a document, typically printed in a smaller type size.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > [noun] > paragraph or clause > detailed, in small print
fine print1891
small print1900
1891 North Western Reporter 50 749 You say you never read the fine print over in this policy?
1946 Motor Boating Aug. 129/1 The moon shining so brightly he can almost read the fine print in the contract.
1960 J. Carswell S. Sea Bubble i. 19 He produced the ‘fine print’ which it is peril to leave unread.
2003 M. Leder Financial Fine Print iii. 42 One of the biggest problems many investors face is that it can be hard to figure out what's important in the fine print.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [noun] > quality of being specific or detailed > a detail or particular > details or particulars > minute
precision1695
minutiae1748
minutia1796
perjinkities1822
fine print1949
1949 Motor Boating Jan. 32/1 Women on the brink of marrying men with hobbies would do well to read the fine print and consider what they are in for.
1968 D. Hitchens Cabin of Fear i. 13 He was a fanatic about the fine-print..and he didn't get where he was by being careless.
2014 Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 1 Dec. 6 a/2 The fine print of what Obama is doing is far less dramatic than many of his defenders and critics claim.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1761