Block letters

Block letters

In America, block letters are simple letters children are taught to write in first grade. They have no serifs and are upright. Deriving from this usage, “block letters” refers to any crude serif or sans-serif font that is formed by cutting a material such as wood or metal without the finer-artistry sophistication usually associated with professional type design in typography.

On official forms, when one is asked to write one's name, the request is usually made to write entirely in capital letters (block letters). This is because cursive handwriting, and especially signatures, can be hard to read. It is often misconstrued that one must write in capital letters when writing in block letters. Contrary to popular belief, and requests from Treasury, block letters can be written in both upper and lower case, at the writer's discretion. Cases such as "Fossil Inc v The Fossil Group" involving patents, trademarks and registration of designs clearly indicate that block letters may comprise of either lower or upper case.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • block letters — noun plural letters of the alphabet written in their large form, for example, A rather than a. Block letters are often called capitals …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • block letters — block capitals UK / US or block letters UK / US noun [plural] letters of the alphabet written in their large form, for example A rather than a . Block capitals are often simply called capitals …   English dictionary

  • block letters — n [plural] block capitals …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • block letters — N PLURAL: usu in N Block letters are the same as block capitals …   English dictionary

  • Block letters (disambiguation) — Block letters are a form of handwriting. It can also refer to: * A block letter is a style of business letter format. * Block letters are the letters at the start and finish of the serial number on a Federal Reserve Note …   Wikipedia

  • block letters — plural noun block capitals …   English new terms dictionary

  • block letters — noun (plural) block capitals …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • block letters — capital letter, upper case letter …   English contemporary dictionary

  • block letters — …   Useful english dictionary

  • block capitals — UK US noun [plural] letters of the alphabet written in their large form, for example ‘A’ rather than ‘a’. Block capitals are often simply called capitals . Thesaurus: general writing systemshyponym Variant: block letters * * * ˌblock ˈcapitals [ …   Useful english dictionary

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