Tittle
A tittle or superscript dot
Use
The word tittle is rarely used.
The
Tittles also exist in
Dotless and dotted i
A number of alphabets use dotted and dotless I, both upper and lower case.
In the modern
In some of the Dene languages of the
There is only one letter I in
In most Latin-based orthographies, the lowercase letter i conventionally has its dot replaced when a diacritical mark atop the letter, such as an acute or grave accent, is placed. The tittle is sometimes retained in some languages. In some Baltic languages sources, the lowercase letter i sometimes retains a tittle even when accented.[10] In Vietnamese in the 17th century,[11] the tittle is preserved atop ỉ and ị but not ì and í, as seen in the seminal quốc ngữ reference Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum. In modern Vietnamese, a tittle can be seen in ì, ỉ, ĩ, and í in cursive handwriting and some signage. This detail rarely occurs in computers and on the Internet, due to the obscurity of language-specific fonts. In any case, the tittle is always retained in ị.
A particular and unique variant is in the Johnston typeface, long employed by and proprietary to the Transport for London organisation and its associates, in print and notices, where above a certain point size the dot (and full stop) are diamond shaped, this being among the most distinguishing features of the font.
Phrases
- It is thought that the phrase "to a T" is derived from the word tittle because long before "to a T" became popular, the phrase "to a tittle" was used.[12]
- The phrase "to dot the i's and cross the t's" is used figuratively to mean "to put the finishing touches to" or "to be thorough".
References
- ^ Oxford Dictionaries Online (US) — Is there a name for the dot above the letters i and j?
- ^ nGram: tittle.
- ^ Blue Letter Bible.
- ^ Although, in majuscule texts iota is not smaller than the other Greek letters. See John P. Meier, Law and History in Matthew's Gospel: A Redactional Study of Mt. 5:17–48 (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1976), 56 n. 20.
- ^ See David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, "The Significance of Jesus' Words 'Not One Jot or One Tittle Will Pass from the Law' (Matt. 5:18)" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
- ^ See Origen, Selecta in Psalmos (ed. Migne, 12:1068).
- ^ Meier, Law and History in Matthew's Gospel, 52.
- ^ Günther Schwarz, "ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία (Matthäus 5 18)", Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 66.3–4 (1975): 268–269. (English translation).
- ^ Grammatical analysis of Syriac Peshitta. Gospel of Matthew, verse 5:18.
- ISSN 0272-2690.
A further complication is the convention of removing the dot from i and j when adding a diacritic over them, as in í, ì, î, ĵ. In the Baltic countries, however, the dot is sometimes retained in these circumstances.
- de Rhodes, Alexander (1651). Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum. Rome: Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.
- ^ Where did the phrase "to the T" come from?