Lower case - Revision history

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	[[Category:Orthography]]		[[Category:Orthography]]
	[[Category:Typography]]		[[Category:Typography]]

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Nick: Protected "Lower case" [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed]

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Protected "Lower case" [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed]

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Nick: /* See also */

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Nick at 13:44, 25 November 2009

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	'''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''small letters''' are the smaller form of [[letter (alphabet)\|letter]]s, as opposed to upper case or [[capital letter]]s, as used in European alphabets ([[Greek alphabet\|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet\|Latin]], [[Cyrillic alphabet\|Cyrillic]], and [[Armenian alphabet\|Armenian]]). For example, the letter ''"a"'' is lower case while the letter ''"A"'' is upper case.		'''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''small letters''' are the smaller form of [[letter (alphabet)\|letter]]s, as opposed to upper case or [[capital letter]]s, as used in European alphabets ([[Greek alphabet\|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet\|Latin]], [[Cyrillic alphabet\|Cyrillic]], and [[Armenian alphabet\|Armenian]]). For example, the letter ''"a"'' is lower case while the letter ''"A"'' is upper case.

	Originally [[alphabet]]s were written entirely in capital letters, spaced between well-defined upper and lower bounds{{Fact\|date=December 2007}}. When written quickly with a [[pen]], these tended to turn into rounder and much simpler forms, like [[uncial]]s~~{{Fact\|date=December 2007}}~~. It is from these that the first minuscule hands developed, the [[half-uncial]]s and cursive minuscule, which no longer stay bound between a pair of lines.		Originally [[alphabet]]s were written entirely in capital letters, spaced between well-defined upper and lower bounds{{Fact\|date=December 2007}}. When written quickly with a [[pen]], these tended to turn into rounder and much simpler forms, like [[uncial]]s. It is from these that the first minuscule hands developed, the [[half-uncial]]s and cursive minuscule, which no longer stay bound between a pair of lines.

	These in turn formed the foundations for the [[Carolingian minuscule]] script, developed by [[Alcuin]] for use in the court of [[Charlemagne]], which quickly spread across Europe. Here for the first time it became common to mix both upper and lower case letters in a single text.		These in turn formed the foundations for the [[Carolingian minuscule]] script, developed by [[Alcuin]] for use in the court of [[Charlemagne]], which quickly spread across Europe. Here for the first time it became common to mix both upper and lower case letters in a single text.
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	The term "lower case" comes from manual [[typesetting]]. Since minuscules were more frequent in text than majuscules, typesetters placed them in the lower and nearer ''[[type case]]'', while the case with the majuscules (the "upper case") was above and behind, a longer reach.		The term "lower case" comes from manual [[typesetting]]. Since minuscules were more frequent in text than majuscules, typesetters placed them in the lower and nearer ''[[type case]]'', while the case with the majuscules (the "upper case") was above and behind, a longer reach.

	The word ''minuscule'' is often spelled ''miniscule'', by association with the unrelated word ''miniature'' and the prefix ''mini-''. This has traditionally been regarded as a spelling mistake (since ''minuscule'' is derived from the word ''minus''<~~ref~~>~~Charlton T. Lewis,~~ [~~http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0060%3Aentry%3D%239936 minusculus~~]</~~ref~~>), but is now so common that some [[dictionaries]] tend to accept it as a nonstandard or variant spelling.<~~ref~~>{{cite book \| author = Houghton Mifflin \| authorlink = Houghton Mifflin \| title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language \| edition = 4th ed \| publisher = Houghton Mifflin \| date = 2000 \| location = Boston and New York \| url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/69/M0316900.html \| isbn = 978-0-395-82517-4 }}</~~ref~~> However, ''miniscule'' is still less likely to be used for lower-case letters.		The word ''minuscule'' is often spelled ''miniscule'', by association with the unrelated word ''miniature'' and the prefix ''mini-''. This has traditionally been regarded as a spelling mistake (since ''minuscule'' is derived from the word ''minus''<sup>[1]</sup>), but is now so common that some [[dictionaries]] tend to accept it as a nonstandard or variant spelling. <sup>[2]</sup> However, ''miniscule'' is still less likely to be used for lower-case letters.

	== History ==		== History ==

Nick at 13:42, 25 November 2009

2009-11-25T13:42:58Z

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	[[Image:UPPER CASE - lower case.jpg\|thumb\|350px\|~~<center>~~Williamsburg eighteenth century press letters]]		[[Image:UPPER CASE - lower case.jpg\|thumb\|350px\|Williamsburg eighteenth century press letters]]

	'''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''small letters''' are the smaller form of [[letter (alphabet)\|letter]]s, as opposed to upper case or [[capital letter]]s, as used in European alphabets ([[Greek alphabet\|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet\|Latin]], [[Cyrillic alphabet\|Cyrillic]], and [[Armenian alphabet\|Armenian]]). For example, the letter ''"a"'' is lower case while the letter ''"A"'' is upper case.		'''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''small letters''' are the smaller form of [[letter (alphabet)\|letter]]s, as opposed to upper case or [[capital letter]]s, as used in European alphabets ([[Greek alphabet\|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet\|Latin]], [[Cyrillic alphabet\|Cyrillic]], and [[Armenian alphabet\|Armenian]]). For example, the letter ''"a"'' is lower case while the letter ''"A"'' is upper case.

Nick: New page: Williamsburg eighteenth century press letters '''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''sma...

2009-11-25T13:42:40Z

New page: thumb|350px|<center>Williamsburg eighteenth century press letters '''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''sma...

New page

[[Image:UPPER CASE - lower case.jpg|thumb|350px|<center>Williamsburg eighteenth century press letters]]

'''Lower case''' (also ''lower-case'' or ''lowercase''), '''minuscule''', or '''small letters''' are the smaller form of [[letter (alphabet)|letter]]s, as opposed to upper case or [[capital letter]]s, as used in European alphabets ([[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Latin alphabet|Latin]], [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]], and [[Armenian alphabet|Armenian]]). For example, the letter ''"a"'' is lower case while the letter ''"A"'' is upper case.

Originally [[alphabet]]s were written entirely in capital letters, spaced between well-defined upper and lower bounds{{Fact|date=December 2007}}. When written quickly with a [[pen]], these tended to turn into rounder and much simpler forms, like [[uncial]]s{{Fact|date=December 2007}}. It is from these that the first minuscule hands developed, the [[half-uncial]]s and cursive minuscule, which no longer stay bound between a pair of lines.

These in turn formed the foundations for the [[Carolingian minuscule]] script, developed by [[Alcuin]] for use in the court of [[Charlemagne]], which quickly spread across Europe. Here for the first time it became common to mix both upper and lower case letters in a single text.

The term "lower case" comes from manual [[typesetting]]. Since minuscules were more frequent in text than majuscules, typesetters placed them in the lower and nearer ''[[type case]]'', while the case with the majuscules (the "upper case") was above and behind, a longer reach.

The word ''minuscule'' is often spelled ''miniscule'', by association with the unrelated word ''miniature'' and the prefix ''mini-''. This has traditionally been regarded as a spelling mistake (since ''minuscule'' is derived from the word ''minus''<ref>Charlton T. Lewis, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0060%3Aentry%3D%239936 minusculus]</ref>), but is now so common that some [[dictionaries]] tend to accept it as a nonstandard or variant spelling.<ref>{{cite book | author = Houghton Mifflin | authorlink = Houghton Mifflin | title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | edition = 4th ed | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | date = 2000 | location = Boston and New York | url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/69/M0316900.html | isbn = 978-0-395-82517-4 }}</ref> However, ''miniscule'' is still less likely to be used for lower-case letters.

== History ==
[[Image:Codex Ebnerianus Prolog J 1, 5b-10.JPG|thumb|right|250px| Example of minuscule text '''[[Codex Ebnerianus]]''' (c. 1100)]]
Traditionally, "more important" letters—those beginning sentences or [[noun]]s—were made larger; then they were written in a different script, although there was no fixed capitalization system until the early eighteenth century (and even then all nouns were capitalized, a system still followed in [[German language|German]] but not in [[English language|English]]).

Similar developments have taken place in other alphabets. The lower-case script for the [[Greek alphabet]] has its origins in the [[7th century|seventh century]] and acquired its quadrilinear form in the [[8th century|eighth century]]. Over time, uncial letter forms were increasingly mixed into the script. The earliest dated Greek lower-case text is the [[Uspenski Gospels]] (MS 461) in the year 835. The modern practice of capitalizing every sentence seems to be imported (and is commonly not used when printing Ancient Greek materials even today).

The [[Samaritan alphabet]] also had lower-case letters, making it relatively unusual among [[abjad]]s such as [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]], [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]] and [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]], which tend to be written without case.

== Usage ==
In scripts with a [[letter case|case]] distinction, the lower case is generally used in most texts, and for most of any given text, with the upper case reserved for emphasis and special contexts.

== References ==
* 1. Charlton T. Lewis, minusculus
* 2. Houghton Mifflin (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed ed.). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-82517-4. http://www.bartleby.com/61/69/M0316900.html.

== See also ==
{{wiktionarypar2|minuscule|lowercase}}
* [[Case folding]]
* [[Letter case]]
* [[Roman cursive]]

==External links==
* [http://www.linfo.org/lower_case.html Lower Case Definition] by The Linux Information Project; also includes information on lower case as it relates to computers.

[[Category:Alphabetic writing systems]]
[[Category:Orthography]]
[[Category:Typography]]

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	== See also ==		== See also ==
	~~{{wiktionarypar2\|minuscule\|lowercase}}~~
	* [[Case folding]]		* [[Case folding]]
	* [[Letter case]]		* [[Letter case]]