For the surname, see Tittle (surname) Not to be confused with title or tilde Lowercase i and j in Liberation Serif , with tittles in red. A tittle or superscript dot[1] is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic or the dot on a lowercase i or j. The tittle is an integral part of the glyph of i and j, but diacritic dots can appear over other letters in various languages. In most languages, the tittle of i or j is omitted when a diacritic is placed in the tittle's usual position (as í or ĵ), but not when the diacritic appears elsewhere (as į, ɉ). Contents

Use Edit

The word tittle is rarely used.[2] One notable occurrence is in the King James Bible at Matthew 5:18: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (KJV). The quotation uses them as an example of extremely minor details. The phrase "jot and tittle" indicates that every small detail has received attention. In the Greek original translated as English "jot and tittle" are found the words iota and keraia (Greek: κεραία).[3] Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι); the even smaller iota subscript was a medieval introduction. Alternatively, it may represent yodh (י), the smallest letter of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets (to which iota is related). "Keraia" is a hook or serif, possibly referring to other Greek diacritics, or possibly to the hooks on Hebrew letters (ב) versus (כ) or cursive scripts for languages derived from Aramaic, such as Syriac, written in Serṭā (ܣܶܪܛܳܐ, 'short line'),[4] or for adding explicit vowel marks such as crowns (e.g. the Vulgate apex) known as Niqqud that developed with later scribal practices in the Torah. A keraia is also used in printing modern Greek numerals. In many abjads only consonants such as yodh in Hebrew have character forms; a word's phonetic pronunciation depends on unwritten or indistinct vowel markings such that many meanings can be rendered ambiguous or corrupted via oral transmission over time.

Dotless and dotted i Edit

Phrases Edit

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. [7]

The phrase "to dot one's I's and cross one's T's" is used literally and also to mean "to put the finishing touches to" or "to be thorough".

References Edit