The title is a small dot used in handwriting and print to distinguish lowercase letters like “i” and “j.” It dates back to 11th-century Latin manuscripts and is a diacritic that doesn’t change the sound or meaning of a letter. It’s also known as a jot and tittle and can be replaced with different symbols in handwriting. Some languages have dotted and undotted versions of these letters with different sounds and meanings. The saying “jot and tittle” refers to the importance of paying attention to every detail, and it comes from a biblical passage.
A title is a term for the lowercase period used at the top of certain letters such as “i” and “j” in both print and handwriting. The use of this dot dates back to 11th-century Latin manuscripts where scribes realized the need to add a small mark separating these lowercase letters from those immediately preceding or following them. The title is also known as a diacritic in the study of typography, which means that it is a distinctive mark on a letter that does not change its general sound or connotation within the spoken English language. Due to its very small size, this point is also referred to in the phrase “jot and tittle” which is sometimes used to describe every last minute detail of a given topic.
Including a title in handwritten lettering can be done in various styles, depending on individual handwriting. Some people develop a habit of replacing a small solid dot with an open circle. Others may even use symbols such as hearts in place of this dot, although this practice is often considered unprofessional or even juvenile.
The use of this sign in typography is quite standard in fonts regardless of whether they are stylized with trailing tails called serifs. The lowercase “i” and “j” can have dotted and undotted versions in some languages other than English; examples include Turkish and Irish. These letter variations usually have different sounds and meanings in the words of these languages. Words that have various pronunciations sometimes need to be written with accents as pairs of dots usually above the “i”. Typing these words into word processing programs can sometimes present problems as including an accent mark may not always be possible with many standard fonts.
When every little part of an argument is scrutinized very closely, some people may notice that every “joke and shred” is scrutinized. This saying recalls the small size of the diacritical point and the fact that including it completes the letter despite its tiny size. The first documented appearance of the expression is usually attributed to a biblical passage from the Book of Matthew. The Hebrew scribes who originally translated this text designated the jot as the line used to cross letters such as the lowercase “t.” This type of saying is also considered similar to others such as “dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’”.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
