Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
lettering

lettering

18 2.8
Words painted or carved on a surface to show a name
  • noun
  • /ˈlɛtərɪŋ/
translation icon : inscripción
  • She admired the elegant lettering beautifully carved into the wooden sign.
  • Roman lettering
  • block lettering

The real solution is the key caps with the reverse lettering and built in rear view mirrors.

Examples

  • Through the broad windshield, she spied the familiar red and gold lettering in the distance.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • His face, ten feet tall, accompanied by big bold lettering: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER IS JACK SLATER!

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Bright yellow with the lettering in black.

    Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2019)

  • What does this lettering mean?

    Cry of the Banshee (1970)

  • Below it, where the custom lettering was supposed to be, it said: YOUR NAME.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • You can see the lettering on the mug.

    He Said, She Said (1991)

  • Above his head, embossed in gold lettering, it said, "Favorite Son."

    Fiction book (1998)

  • So we went over there to inspect it and we saw that there is Chinese lettering all over the crates.

  • Smudges marked the pages here and there, but the lettering was neat, each letter carefully curved to completion.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Looking at its frosted-glass door, the sign painter is just finishing lettering in: NORVILLE BARNES, President.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

type
vslettering
  • Archaic
549 3.7

The letters or characters used in printing, like those on a page

is about printed character shapes rather than hand applied decorative text
writing
vslettering
123 1.0

Marks or letters on a surface that show language

is narrower, focusing specifically on decorative or identifying surface words
inscription
vslettering
37 4.8

Words carved on a hard surface like a stone or coin

is more often decorative or identifying rather than a formal record
calligraphy
vslettering
17 7.1

Beautiful writing done by hand used for decoration or art

is about words on surfaces used mainly to decorate or identify items
scriptum
vslettering
  • Archaic
9.9

Writing cut or painted on a hard surface like stone

focuses on decorative or identifying text rather than any surface writing
epigraph
vslettering
9.8

Words carved on a building, statue, or coin to remember someone

is used more for decoration or identification, not mainly for memorials
superscription
vslettering
9.9

A short heading written above things such as a book or envelope

is more often decorative or identifying text rather than a simple heading

How Decorative

lettering
18 2.8
block letter
3 3.0

Surface Forms

lettering singular
letterings plural

Morphology

lettering = letter (transparent) = letter + ing

The word is a regular noun formed from the verb 'letter' with '-ing', referring to the resulting lettering or act of lettering.

Etymology

The word lettering comes from the simple word letter, from an old Latin word for a 'written sign', plus the ending -ing, which turns it into a thing. So lettering means the letters or words that are written, carved, or painted on a surface, often as decoration or a name.