lettre de formen.
/ˌlɛtr(ə) də ˈfɔːm/, U.S. /ˌlɛtr(ə) də ˈfɔrm/ A formal Gothic script distinguished by narrow angular letters and a strong vertical emphasis; a typeface based on this script. Cf. textura n.
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [noun] > type face or font > textura
lettre de forme1849
textura1929
1799 E. Fry Pantographia 73 This character..is called by the French Lettres de forme; by us it is known under the name of Old English, or Black Letter.]
1849 F. Madden tr. J. J. Champollion & A. Champollion Universal Palæogr. II. 648 The writing of this manuscript..is termed lettres de forme, or formée, being the real Gothic, very angular, full of points, and complicated.
1887 T. B. Reed Hist. Old Eng. Letter Foundries i. 53 The Gothic letter employed by the inventors of printing for the Bible, Psalter, and other sacred works, was an imitation of the formal hand of the German scribes... This letter, as a typographical character, took the name of Lettre de Forme.
1927 R. B. McKerrow Introd. Bibliogr. 289 The lettre de forme,..derived from the most formal script,..is in general of a rather narrow and pointed character, tending everywhere to angularity.
1971 Jrnl. Walters Art Gall. 1968–9 72/1 In gothic lettre de forme, black ink and rubricated captions.
1990 E. Armstrong Before Copyright (2002) vii. 146 In a theological or philosophical work, printed in lettres de forme or lettres de somme..the display of the privilege in lettres bâtardes served to emphasise that this was something different.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1849