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Glite Dictionary
📜 Arabic script style 📜 Ancient script
Kufic

Kufic

9.9
An old square style of Arabic writing used in early books and on buildings
  • noun
  • /ˈkuːfɪk/
  • Specialized
: cúfico
  • The artist chose Kufic script for the decorative border of the manuscript.
  • floriated Kufic

Examples

  • This feature associates the S. Marco motif with a type of medieval Arabic script known as floriated Kufic, which was produced by a variety of medieval Islamic groups and in diverse media beginning in the mid- to late ninth century.

    Academic text (2008)

  • l am proficient in 7th-century Kufic.

    Ishtar (1987)

  • While it is possible that the S. Marco bowl could have imitated an early example of floriated Kufic, it is more likely that the motif reached Byzantium somewhat later, after the style had become widespread.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Many ancient inscriptions are written in Kufic, showcasing its distinctive angular style.

  • Historians often study Kufic to understand the evolution of Arabic calligraphy.

Surface Forms

Kufic singular
Kufics plural

Morphology

Kufic = Kufa (semi-transparent) = kufa + ic

Derived from the place name plus '-ic' which transparently marks 'relating to Kufa', but the specific meaning 'a style of Arabic script' is historical and not fully inferable from the morphemes alone.

Etymology

Kufic takes its name from the city Kufa in Iraq, where a strong, block-like form of Arabic letters was developed. So, Kufic as a noun means that early, angular style of Arabic script seen on manuscripts, buildings, and art.