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Glite Dictionary
🏢 A small company 🔠 Short capital letter
small cap

small cap

1 6.9
A capital letter the same height as a small letter used for style
  • noun
  • /smɔl kæp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : minúsculas
  • In typography, small caps are often used to give emphasis to specific words in a document.

Examples

  • In this font, small cap letters are clearly distinguishable from full-size capitals.

  • The title was written in small caps for emphasis.

  • Printed in small caps, the title stood out on the cover.

  • She prefers to format headings with small caps for a classic look.

  • Did you notice the small cap font in the document?

  • Many designers prefer to use small caps in headings for a more elegant and professional appearance.

  • You can create a visual distinction by replacing regular text with small caps in your design project.

Synonyms

small capital
vssmall cap
  • Specialized
7.7

A letter that looks like a big letter but is the height of a small letter used for emphasis

means the same but is the other common term

Antonyms

capital letter
4 1.0

A large letter that you use at the start of a sentence or name

How Uppercase

uppercase
1 1.1
small cap
  • Specialized
1 6.9
lowercase
2 1.8

Surface Forms

small cap singular
small caps plural

Morphology

small + cap

The meaning is compositionally built—'small' modifies 'cap' (short for 'capital' as in capital letter) to indicate a reduced-size capital letter—so if a learner knows 'cap' in the typographic sense the meaning is derivable. However, 'cap' = 'capital letter' is a specialized/less frequent sense and the term is jargon in typography, so the sense is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Small cap in printing comes from making a cap (a capital letter) the same height as lowercase letters, so capitals looked like small versions of themselves. That's why 'small caps' mean capital letters made small for a neat, even style.