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Document Examiner Dictionary
Acronyms Abbreviations in which
the initial letters of the words in the name are written
and spoken as a single word, e.g., NADE Affix A morpheme
attached to a word root, a prefix, or a suffix.
Alignment The spatial organization
of the writing pattern, its linear arrangement of words
and intervening spaces and their accommodation on the
page.
Allograph A writing or signature
made by one person for another; or a style (block capital,
print script, or cursive form) of one of the 26 graphernes
of the English alphabet or of the ligatures and other
symbols that accompany it (Ellis 1979).
Allolog Different forms of a word created by
adding an affix, e.g., hope to hoped.
Alphabet A system of writing
in which a set of allographs represent the graphernes
of a language.
Apex Up-pointing or down-pointing free-ending
juncture of two stems, e.g., 'A;"'M:' "V," or "W"
Aphasia The loss of a previous
ability to speak, or impairment of the power to use
and understand words.
Appendage or paraph A final
pen-flourish of a free sweeping line made over or under
a name written as a signature; sometimes a simple terminal
stroke or dot.
Arc Part of a circle; a bow-like curved line.
Arcade The rounded style used
to form the arches of the cursive letters "n1""m;'and"h.'
Arch The rounded hump or top
curve of such letters as "n," "m," and "h.'
Arm A horizontal or upward-sloping
short stroke starting from the stem of a character,
ending free, e.g., "K,' "E," or "E"
Arrangement The order or organization of a written
inscription on a sheet.
Ascender Part of the lowercase
letters extending above the body or x-height, e.g.,
"b," "dl" "h'" or '11" usually
a loop, but including the stem of the "t."
Assisted writing The result
of a guided hand, produced by the cooperation of the
two minds and two hands of two persons.
Asterisk A star-shaped symbol
or figure, "," used to indicate a reference to a footnote
or an omission.
Autograph A person's signature,
his handwriting; a manuscript in an author's own handwriting.
Axial direction In the direction of the axis.
Balloon Printing that resembles
speed ball-pen lettering.
Ball terminal Small round globe, found at the
end of some printing strokes, e.g., 'Y' and
Bar Horizontal or oblique short final stroke
of some cursive letters, not to be confusedwith terminal
strokes.
Bar, connecting Intermediate stroke, connecting
strokes of a letter to other strokes, usually a dual-staffed
letter.
Bar, cross A stroke intersecting the stem or
main portion of the letter; a cross-stroke.
Baroque Certain stylistic tendencies of the
seventeenth and eighteenth century arts,characterized
by exuberance and extravagance - grotesque, whimsical
- used in reference to older designs of currency.
Base line The horizontal real or assumed line
upon which letters reside.
Beard A slight hook preceding the body of a
letter, not to be confused with that frequentlyforming
a part of the initial stroke.
Beginning strokes See strokes, initial.
Bitmap A mosaic of dots or pixels defining an
image, including dot matrix imprints. The smoothness
of the image contour depends upon the fineness of resolution
and the number of dots or pixels per inch.
Blind eyelet An eyelet formation of such small
size or narrow width that it has been filled in.
Blind loop A loop formation that has been completely
filled in with ink.
Block formation Letters set
so closely together within a word as to make the word
stand out as a compact unit or block.
Blobbing The accumulation of
ink on the exterior of the point assembly of a ball-point
pen, that drops intermittently to the surface being
written upon.
Blotter image A natural, involuntary
record on a blotter or similar substrate of script,
figures, etc.
Blunt ending The effect produced
on commencement and terminal strokes of letters, both
upper and lowercase, by the application of the writing
instrument to the paper prior to the beginning of any
horizontal movement; an action that usually omits any
beard, hitch, knob, or tick.
Boat A dish-shaped figure consisting
of a concave stroke and a straight line, sometimes forming
the base of letters.
Body That portion of a letter, the central part,
that remains when the upper and lower projections, the
terminal and initial strokes, and the diacritics are
omitted.
Body-height See x-height.
Bold face A heavier version of a regular typeface;
used for emphasis or visual effect.
Boustrophedon Writing in which
alternate lines are written in opposite directions and
even have the posture as well as the direction of reversed
letters.
Bow A vertical curved stroke, as in capitals
"Y' and "C.'
Bowl The line fully enclosing
a counter; a complete bowl, formed by a curved stroke
only; a modified bowl, in which the stem forms a side
of the bowl.
Braces Two symbols (, used to
connect or segregate written material.
Bracket or fellet A wedge- shaped
structure joining a serif to a stem.
Braille A system of representing
letters, numerals, etc., by raised dots that a visuallyimpaired
person can read by touch.
Brush Balloon-style printing extended to a script.
Buckle knot The loop followed
by a horizontal stroke that is sometimes used to complete
letters such as the "A," "G' and "C'
Buckles The means by which an
element of a letter ties itself to the staff, as in
the letters "K" and "R."
Burring A division of a written
line into two or more, more or less equal portions,
by a noninked area generally running parallel to the
direction of line generation, but moving away from the
radius of a curving stroke, sometimes referred to as
"splitting.,
Caret A mark, "A"
used to show where something is to be inserted
in written or printed matter.
Capital letter or capital Uppercase or majuscule
(see also "uncial").
Character Any typed or handwritten
mark, sign or insignia, abbreviation, punctuation mark,
letter, or numeral, whether legible, blurred, or indistinct.
Check mark A mark usually consisting
of a short downward stroke, made with considerable pressure,
followed by a lighter upward stroke at an angle toward
the right (or to the left, as constructed by most, if
not many, left-handed writers).
Cicero A typographic unit of
measurement used predominantly in Europe. It consists
of 12 Didot points, each measuring.01483 inch. Thus,
a cicero is .1776 or 4.511 mm.
Cipher The arithmetic symbol
"0,' representing naught or zero.
Coadjutant One who works together
with another; the individual providing enabling aid
to a signer or signatory of a document, when required.
Codicil A supplement to a will,
the purpose of which is to alter or augment the provisions
of the already executed will.
Collected standards A sample
of writing made during the normal course of business
or social activity~ not necessarily related to the matter
in dispute.
Colophon A short note at the
end of a book, usually handwritten, giving details of
its author and the making of the book. Also, the emblem
or device of a publishing house, carried on the spine,
title page or back of a book.
Concave A curved stroke that projects to the
left or downward.
Condensed face A typeface that has narrow letter
widths.
Conjoined letters Two letters
that have been written in the common manner, such that
the terminal stroke of the first is the initial stroke
of the second.
Connectedness, degree of The
extent to which letters within a word are joined without
lifting the writing instrument from the paper.
Connecting stroke An expression
commonly used to refer to the fusion of the terminal
stroke of one lowercase cursive letter and the initial
stroke of another, having no identifiable or describable
entity of its own (see "conjoined letters").
Connection subtypes
Unsupported - the body of the letter does not follow
or retrace the stem. Supported - the body of the letter
rests against or retraces the stem. Looped - the initial
stroke forms a loop with the stem of the letter.
Contraction A form of word abbreviation wherein
one or more letters are omitted.
Convex A curved stroke that projects to the
right or upward.
Copybook A manual of writing
instruction that places
models before the learner, to be copied.
Counter A printer's term for the fully or partially-enclosed
interior white space within a character, as in the "a,"
"b," "c," "d," "el" "g;`j," "o," " p;"'q," "s:' and
many capitals.
Counterstroke A stroke that
originates from a movement that stresses a direction
opposite to the expected one.
Crossbar The connecting horizontal
stroke between two stems of a letter, as in ~'Yor "H,"
or the projecting horizontal stroke necessary for the
formation of a letter, as in the cursive "t," or the
printed T'
Cross mark A crude "X" used
historically by those who could not write. Still used
by illiterates and, if properly witnessed, can be legally
accepted as a signature.
Crotch Space where an arm or an arc meets a
stem at an acute or obtuse angle.
Crown (cap) The horizontal (sometimes
undulating) stroke forming the top of some letters;
found only in majuscules, "T," "E"
Cursive A form of continuous
writing in which letters are connected to one another,
and designed according to some commercial system; the
most common allograph of a grapheme.
Curtailment An abbreviation
wherein the last letter(s) of a word are omitted.
Curvilinear Consisting of or
contained by a curved line or lines; opposite of rectilinear.
Cusp The point at which two curved lines meet.
Dash Short, usually horizontal,
hastily written stroke.
Delta Fourth letter of the Greek
alphabet, "6:'the Ureek d.
Dent Slight hollow formation.
Descender A part of a letter
extending below the base line, as in "g;"'j,"'p;"'q,'
y.
Dextrality Right- band preference,
as opposed to sinistrality or left-hand preference.
Diacritical mark or point A
sign added to a letter or symbol to give it a particular
phonetic value. An accent. Sometimes used to refer to
the dots over the 'T' and
Diagonal stroke See "virgule."
Didot system A typographic measuring
system, used in Europe and based on the Didot point,
similar to the US.-English pica system (see cicero).
Digraph A group of two successive
letters representing a single sound or a complex sound
that is not a combination of the sounds ordinarily represented
by each in other occurrences, e.g., "Ph7 in digraph,
"ch" in chin.
Diphthong The combination of
two vowels in succession, the sound of which begins
with one and ends with the other, e.g., "ofl," "boy,"
or "out.'
En space A typographic unit
of horizontal space, equal to one half of the point
size of any font.
Endstroke The terminal stroke of a written form,
word, or letter.
Endstroke obliteration An endstroke
that thrusts abruptly to the left, bisecting a word
or signature crosswise.
Epistle A letter or communication, especially
a formal one.
Epsilon The fifth letter of the Greek alphabet,
"E:' representing
the letter "e.'
Escapement The spacing of the letters or characters
al ' Ong the line of typewriting; the pitch.
Essential tremour A common neurological condition
causing tremour of the arms, and/or hands.
Exclamation mark A punctuation mark "!," used
after an exclamation.
Exemplar An example of a person's
writing, a standard for use in comparisons, a "collected"
or a "request" specimen.
Expanded typeface A typeface that has wide letter
widths.
Expansion The spread of writing, usually horizontally,
upon the writing space.
Extended writing Writing, usually
cursive, of a textual nature, of any amount, but other
than a signature.
Extensions Ascending and descending
stems and loops of bizonal and trizonal letters. Eyelet,
blind An eyelet formation of such size or width
that it is "filled in."
Eyelet A small, round or oval
formation beginning or closing a curve or spiral, or
completing the inside shape of a round letter, e,g.,
"e:`D:' or "w."
Feathering The
condition in which the writing/printing fluid spreads
laterally in a pattern that usually follows the direction
of the surface fibres away from the written or printed
line. Characteristic of intaglio printing involving
extreme pressures of the plate on the paper; thus, also
called gushing.
Fixed spacing Uniform horizontal
spacing of the characters of a type font, as opposed
to proportional spacing that varies with the design
of the character. Flourish A decorative pen stroke that
serves only as an ornament.
Flow-back An increase in the
density of an ink line caused by the run of excess ink
along the finish of a stroke, occurring when the pen
is lifted from the paper.
Fluctuation Alternating changes
of direction, position or conditions, i.e., alternating
acceleration and deceleration of writing speed, or alternating
expansion and contraction of the writing pattern.
Fluency Freedom, and other like
terms, referring to a generally higher grade of line
quality that is smooth, consistent, and without any
evidence of tremour or erratic changes in direction
or pen pressure.
Fluorescence The phenomena in
which some substances absorb light and re-emit part
of it as light of a longer wave length. Fluorescence
ceases when incident or exciting illumination ceases.
Flying finish The diminishing
taper of a terminal stroke when the motion of the instrument
does not stop at the completion of a word, or the minute
barb sometimes growing out of it.
Flying start The growing taper
of an initial stroke, or the delicate initial hook,
that appears where the motion of the instrument precedes
actual writing.
Folio Originally, four pages of text on a single
sheet of paper.
Font (= fount) A complete set
or collection of letters, figures, symbols, punctuation
marks, and special characters that are of the same design
and size, for a particular typeface. Foot That portion
of the downstroke of a letter, written or printed, touching
the base line. Forced hand A person's signature
or writing executed while the hand was under the physical
compulsion or control of another person.
Forward oval An oval made by
a clockwise circular motion. Fount See "font.'
Fraudulent handwriting The forgery
of a signature, a word, a figure, a number of lines
of writing, or of an entire document.
Freehand simulation A fraudulent
signature that is produced by copying or imitating the
style and size of a genuine signature, without the use
of physical aids or involving a tracing process.
Garlanded A
writing style in which rounded trough-like strokes and
movements dominate. Gooping The accumulation
of excessive amounts of ink on the exterior of the point
assembly of a ball-point pen as a result of the rotation
of the ball, that is usually transferred to the paper
surface immediately after the direction of rotation
is substantially changed. Graph The pattern of ink on
the paper representing, for that writer, a particular
allograph. Grapheme The smallest identifiable unit of
writing; not divisible; the abstract concept of a letter
of the alphabet.
Graphics Of, or pertaining to writing or drawing.
Graphometry A method of characterizing
a handwriting by measurement of the proportionate values
of the angles and ratios of the heights and widths of
letters.
Graphoanalysis A registered trade name that
identifies the system of handwriting analysis taught
by the International Graphoanalysis Society, Inc.
Graphonomics The study of the
science and technology of handwriting and other graphic
skills (coined in 1982), or the scientific study concerned
with the systematic relationships involved in the generation
and analysis of writing and drawing movements, and the
resulting traces of writing and drawing instruments,
either on conventional media, such as paper and blackboard,
or on electronic equipment.
Graphonym Two different words
or letter combinations that, when written cursively,
appear nearly identical. Rare in English, but includes
"win/urn," "bi/Ir," "d/cl," etc.
Guided-hand signature A signature that is executed
while the writer's hand or arm is steadied or assisted
by another person.
Guillemets Horizontal chevrons, << ~>,
used in French to mark quotations.
Guilloche Free swinging, asymmetrical
curves; a succession of smooth convoluting lines that
intersect themselves, characteristic of intaglio security
printing.
Gutter The space between printed columns of
text.
Habit Any persistently
repeated element or detail of writing that occurs when
the opportunity allows.
Hairline A very thin stroke.
Handlettering A disconnected
style of writing in which letter design usually follows
that of the uppercase printed character. Handprinting.
Haplography The unintentional
omission in writing or copying of one or more adjacent
and similar letters, syllables, words, or lines.
Harpoon The snapped-back ending of a written
stroke; shaped like a harpoon.
Hiatus A gap in a writing stroke
of a letter formed when the instrument leaves the paper;
an opening; an interruption in the continuity of a line.
Hind link The stroke by means of which a letter
links with a preceding letter.
Hitch The introductory backward
stroke added to the beginning of many capital letters
and some lowercase letters.
Holograph A document written
entirely in the handwriting of the person whose signature
it bears.
Homographs The writing of "homonyms."
Homonyms Words that are both
pronounced and spelled the same, but have different
meanings, e.g., lead (verb) and lead (noun).
Homophones Words that sound
alike, but have different spelling and meaning, e.g.,
stair and stare. In ancient writings they were different
symbols with the same phonetic value orsound.
Hook A small curved stroke.
Horizontal chevrons See "guillemets.'
Horizontal dash A punctuation
mark "-" used to indicate a break or omission. Horizontal
line The base line of writing or printing or a line
parallel to it.
Horizontal malalignment A typewriter
alignment defect in which the character prints to the
right or left of its proper position.
Iconographs The first attempts by neolithic
man to depict objects and ideas.
Ideographs Picture symbols and
stick figures employed by neolithic man to graphically
represent objects and ideas in drawings on cave walls.
Imprimature A licence to print.
Inerthand- An execution of writing
in which the person holding the writing instrument exercises
no motor activity whatever, conscious or unconscious.
The guide leads the writing instrument through the medium
of the hand of the first person. The writer may be feeble
or a complete illiterate.
Infralinear letters Small or
lowercase letters that have components that extend below
the baseline of writing, e.g., "g," "j;' 11
P;"'q' ' "y" and "z."
Initial stroke The first stroke of a letter
or a word.
Initial spur The long initial rising stroke
of a letter.
Interline The insertion of additional words
between the lines of a written document.
Interlinear spacing The distance
between the baselines of two successively occurring
lines of writing.
Interstice An intervening space
between things, e.g., between fibres in paper or between
lines of writing.
Inverted posture That in which
the point of the writing instrument is directed toward
the body of the writer.
Italic Type that slants forward.
Jointorjuncture
The point or position at which two or more strokes
meet within a letter. Justified Vertically-aligned
side margins; line lengths of equal measure.
Kerning The
spacing of two letters closer together than customary
when their designs leave too much intercharacter white
space.
Knob A round lump or bulge,
as in the copybook design of the lowercase cursive "k."
Lacunae See "hiatus.'
Lateral expansion The horizontal
dimension of writing produced by the width of letters,
the space between letters and words, and the width of
margins.
Lateral writing Writing characterized by wide
letters and spacing.
Left-handed curve A stroke that is made in a
counterclockwise direction.
Leg An appendage; usually a lower extension
from the body, as in "W' and "K."
Legibility The ease with which
a reader recognizes individual letter and character
shapes. Letter Any drawn, written, printed, or
typed character, lowercase or uppercase, that can be
recognized as an allograph of the alphabet of any language.
Lexical Pertaining or related
to the words of a language (hence dyslexia meaning a
disturbance of the ability to read).
Ligature A group of connected characters treated
typographically as a single character; sometimes a stroke
or bar connecting two letters.
Line measure The length of a line of printing
expressed in picas, points, or ciceros.
Line quality A term characterizing
the visible record of the stroke of writing. It is the
product of a combination of factors including speed,
rhythm, shading, pen pressure, and pen position.
The degree of regularity (i.e.,
smoothness or gradation) in the written stroke as may
be judged from the consistency of its path in a prescribed
direction. It varies from smooth and controlled to tremulous
and erratic.
Linear letters Small or lowercase
letters having no components that extend above or below
the x- height, e.g., "a,' "c," "e," "i," "m," 'W`o,"
"r," "s," "u;`v," "w," and "x:'
Link The stroke connecting the
top and bottom segments of a lower case printed "g.'
Lithographic printing See "lithography."
Lithography Printing from a
smooth surface plate that has been treated so that the
printing areas are ink attracting and the nonprinting
areas are ink repelling.
Look-through The appearance
of paper when viewed by transmitted light, thus, disclosing
the texture or formation of the sheet.
Loop The circular figure formed
when aline crosses itself, as in the cursive letters
"e" and "If
Lowercase letters Small letters
of the alphabet as opposed to capital letters; minuscules.
Lower loop A loop extending below the baseline;
a descender.
Luminescence The visible glow
of certain substances (e.g., components of some inks)
when subjected to stimulation by electromagnetic radiation,
electric fields, or heat. Luminescence embraces fluorescence
and phosphorescence.
Main script The
most important stroke of a letter (see "stern"). Majuscule
The capital or upper case forms of letters. Uncials.
Manuscript writing A disconnected
form of writing using many printed letter forms, frequently
taught to children in elementary schools as the first
step in learning to write.
Margins The space at the top,
bottom, and sides of the page that frames the body of
written, typed, or printed matter.
Microphotography The term used
in Europe for the making of large photographs of small
objects, usually through a microscope. In the U.K. and
the U.S.A. this is called photomicrography, and microphotography
is used to refer to the technique of making microscopically
small photographs by the process of optical reduction.
Mid-arm The cross stroke in letters such as
"H" and "A.'
Midline The line halfway between
the baseline and headline of writing or printing, either
real or imaginary.
Minim A short, vertical stroke on the baseline,
e.g., the legs on an "m.'
Minuscule The small or lower case forms of letters,
as opposed to capitals.
Mirror writing Writing that
runs in the opposite direction to the normal pattern;
starts on the right side of the pages and proceeds from
right to left, with reversed order in spelling and turning
of the letter images.
Model signature A genuine signature used to
prepare a simulated or traced forgery.
Moir6 A pattern that is the
mathematical solution to the interface of two periodic
functions. Most moire patterns are generated by figures
that consist of lines, but lines are not strictly necessary.
They may be interacting figures having some sort of
solid and open regions of any geometric form. In simplest
form, a moir6 pattern arises from the imperfect superimposition
of two sets of equidistant parallel lines.
Moneybag A vernacular term sometimes used to
describe an inflated, oversized lower loop.
Monogram A character composed
of two or more letters interwoven together, the letters
being usually the initials of a formal name.
Morpheme The meaningful constituent of a word;
the "root!
Natural variation
The imprecision with which the habits of the writer
are executed on repeated occasions (Huber), or the divergence
of one execution from another in an element of an individual's
writing that occurs invariably in the graph but may
also occur in the choice of the allograph (Huber), or
normal or usual deviations found between repeated specimens
of any individual's handwriting or in the product of
any typewriter or other record making machine (Hilton).
Nodule A small, rounded mass
or lump of ink caused by an excessive deposit; the result
of "gooping" in some ball-point pens.
Nonce word A word coined to fit a special situation.
Normal posture That in which
the writing instrument is pointed away from the body
of the writer.
Numeral Any drawn, written,
printed, or typed character representing a quantity,
of which numbers are formed; a digit.
Obliteration The blotting out
or smearing over of writing, lettering, or printing
to make the original invisible or undecipherable.
Obverse The side that bears
the principal design; the front or principal surface
of anything.
Octothorpe The symbol, "#,"
used to represent the word number, when it precedes
one or more digits, or the word pound when it
succeeds one or more digits.
Off-its-feet The condition of
a typeface, that prints heavier on one side or corner
than the remainder of the character.
Orthography The principles by
which the alphabet is set into correspondence with the
speech sounds; the art of spelling.
Oval forms Bowls of letters
that have an oval shape, e.g., "a," "d," "g," 'W,
"q." Paradigm A pattern, an exemplar, an
example, or model.
Paraph A flourish
or sweeping line, stroke or dot, above, through or below
a signature; an appendage; a rubric; the figure formed
by the flourish of a pen at the conclusion of a signature.
Parenthesis Either or both of
the upright curved lines used to mark off explanatory
or qualifying remarks, e.g., "(".
Patching Retouching or going
back over a defective portion of the writing stroke;
retracing. Pen emphasis The act of intermittently
forcing the pen against the paper surface with increased
pressure.
Pen lift An interruption in a stroke due to
the removal of the writing instrument from the paper.
Pen position The angle relationship between
the axis of the pen and the paper.
Pen hold The manner in which
the writing instrument is held in the hand; includes
the pen position relative to the paper surface, the
direction of the instrument relative to the writing
line and to the writer.
Perfins Pinhole designs, initials,
or numerals, made through stamps (after 1860 in Great
Britain, and 1908 in the U.S.A.), coined from "Perforated
Insignia!
Phoneme A symbol representing
a phone (i.e., a distinctive sound), abstracted from
spoken words.
Phosphorescence A kind of fluorescence
that continues for a time after the stimulating light
source ceases.
Photomicrography The making
of large photographs of small objects often via a microscope
(on this continent and in the U.K.). See also "microphotography."
Pica A unit of measure of printer's
type, approximately 1/6 inches
or 12 points typically used for vertical measurement.
Also a term used to denote conventional monotone typewriter
typeface that has a fixed character width of 10 to the
inch.
Pilcrow A proofreader's mark to indicate a paragraphs
beginning,
Point The basic typographic
unit of measurement of fonts, line spacing, rules and
borders; there are 12 points to a pica and 72 points
to the inch; typically used for vertical dimensions.
Point load The vertical component of the force
applied to the tip of a writing instrument during line
generation.
Polyphones - Symbols having more than one phonetic
value.
Pressure The amount of force
exerted on the point of the writing instrument, technically
termed point load. Pressure may manifest itself in line
quality, i.e., thickness and shading of the stroke;
also noted in the amount of indentation in the paper
surface.
Proportional spacing Spacing
that varies with the design of the character of the
font. Proportions The comparative relations between
letters and parts of letters.
Pseudo expansion The result of wide interspaces
between narrow letters.
Pump handle A term some give to the projecting
element of the printed "r."
Rebound A typewriter
defect in which a character prints a double impression
with the lighter one slightly offset to the right or
left.
Recto In printing, the right
hand page of an open book, hence, the front of the leaf,
as opposed to the back or verso.
Collections of typewriting,
check writer specimens, inks, pens, pencils, papers,
etc. compiled and organized by the document examiner
as standards of the products.
Request standards Writing samples
written at the request of another person. Retouching
Touching up to correct or perfect a graphic execution.
Reverse curve A section of curve
where its radius changes to an opposite direction; an
undulation.
Reverse That side of a page
or document that does not bear the main device or inscription.
Rhythm A harmonious recurrence
of stress, impulse, or motion; sometimes used to classify
writing quality, e.g., smooth, intermittent, or jerky.
Ribbon impression A sample of typewriter text
made directly through a fabric or carbon film ribbon.
Right-handed curve One that is made in a clockwise
direction.
River Gaps in the writing or printing pattern
that form a straggling white stream down the page.
Rubric A flourish after or under
a name written as a signature, an underscore or underline.
In ancient times it was a red ornamental letter at the
beginning of a chapter or a division of a manuscript.
Sans serif A
class of typefaces without serifs.
Scientific
- Handwriting Examination is scientific in the respect
that it is based on accumulate and accepted knowledge
from theories, truths and principles that have been
discovered through observation,experimentation and research.
Script Handwriting as distinguished from printing
or lettering; cursive writing.
Semicolon A mark of punctuation,
";", indicating a degree of separation, intermediate
between the comma and the period.
Serif A broadening of the ends
of the main strokes of a character; maybe of many designs
and sizes.
Serrations Roughness along the
edges of an ink line seen under a microscope. Set The
width of an individual typewritten letter.
Set-off The unwanted transfer
of ink from one sheet of paper to the back of the sheet
above.
Shading Stressed contrast between
thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes. A widening of
the ink stroke due to the added pressure on the writing
instrument.
Shoulder A joint, bridge, or
hump on top of the small cursive letter 'Y' between
the up and downstrokes; the curved arches of the "h,"
"m:' and "n."
Signatory A signer, with another
or others; a person whose name is being inscribed on
a document who requires assistance in doing so.
Signature The name of a person,
or mark representing it, as written by himself or herself.
Sinistrality Left-hand preference, as opposed
to dextrality or right-hand preference, particularly
in writing.
Skeletal stem Letter extensions made without
the required loop formation.
Skip The self-recoverable, temporary
interruption (without deposition of ink) in an otherwise
continuous writing line.
Slant The angle or inclination
of the axis of letters relative to the baseline of writing.
Slash 'W', see "virgule.'
Soldered break A corrective
retracing by which the writer attempts to fit together
the two ends of a broken stroke so that no hiatus remains.
Solidus The diagonal line used
to separate; amounts in English currency, e.g., 12/6
for 12 shillings, 6 pence, or the numerator and denominator
in fractions, e.g., 1/2 (see virgule). Spacing The
distance between letters or words (see also "interlinear
spacing").
Speed 'Y' The Roundhand, Palmer, or Mills "r";
the "v" type "r."
Spine The main slightly curved stroke of a lower
case or capital "S.'
Spiral That portion of a letter
executing a spiral formation, popular designs of commencement
and termination in older styles of writing.
Splicing A term used to denote
the slight overlapping of two strokes after an interruption
in the writing action.
Splitting The division of an
ink line into two or more, more or less equal portions,
by a noninked area running generally parallel to the
direction of the stroke, sometimes called burring.
Springboard An initial stroke
commencing far below the baseline and to the left of
the stem.
Spur A small projection off
the main stroke seen on some printed uppercase "G"s;
or the short lateral finishing stroke found in the lowercase
"b," "v," and "w"
Spurious signature A fraudulent
signature in which there was no apparent attempt at
simulation or imitation.
Staff That portion of the letter forming the
backbone.
Starving A condition in which
there is an inadequate flow of writing fluid to the
writing surface.
Stem The main or heavy stroke
of a letter to which the other parts are attached. Stress
See "pressure."
Stroke A single written line,
either ascending, descending, or lateral in the formation
of a letter or any of its parts.
Subscript A character or symbol
written next to and slightly below a letter or number.
Superscript A character or symbol written next
to and slightly above a letter or number. Supralinear
letters Small or lowercase letters that have components
that extend above the x height, e.g., "bl" "d:"h,' -k,7
'I," 't."
Swash A fancy flourish replacing a terminal
stroke or serif.
Symbol In writing, a character that is used
to represent something that might be expressed in one
or more words, e.g., I," and is considered part of
a typing or printing font.
Thil A terminal
or ending stroke; sometimes used to refer to the leg
of an "It" or "K," or to the final element of the "Q."
Tenting A term used to describe
a letter that contains a tent-shaped form. Terminal
stroke The last stroke of a word; endstroke.
Textual writing That pertaining to a text, extended
writing, usually cursive, but not inclusive of a signature.
Tick Any superfluous small stroke preceding
or succeeding the body of a letter.
Tilde A small stroke or mark
used in writing or printing placed above certain letters
in some languages to denote a change in sound; a diacritical
mark.
Trace The mark, track, rail, or imprint of a
stroke.
Traced forgery Any fraudulent
signature executed by a manual, mechanical or electronic
endeavour to follow the outline of a genuine signature.
Tremour A lack of smoothness,
due to lack of skill, consciousness of the writing act
or to the deliberate control of the instrument in copying
or tracing, or an involuntary, roughly rhythmic, and
sinusoidal movement.
Tremulous An unsteady, wavering
stroke produced by an involuntary vibratory motion of
the writing hand.
Trough The bend, crook or inner
side of a curve opening upwards, or, the valleys of
letters such as "u:"'v," "w," and "y."
Typeface The name of a particular design of
printed characters and symbols.
Typeface family A range of typeface
designs that are variations of one basic style of alphabet.
Uncial A script
writing style of the fourth to ninth centuries that
introduced what became minuscule or lowercase forms
to the alphabet.
Undercurve A forward oval movement in an upstroke.
Undercut A connection that falls
below the base of the succeeding letter. Uppercase
letters A printing term for capital letters; majuscules.
Upper loop A loop extending above the baseline
or the height of linear letters; an ascender.
Versal letters Those
that mark important parts of the text, used for headings
and words written at the beginning of books or chapters;
often distinguished by size, colour, and ornamentation
which tends towards curves and flourishes.
Verso The left-hand page of
a book or the reverse side of a leaf, opposite of recto.
Vertex The apex, top, or crown;
the highest point of a letter.
Vertical expansion Product of the height of
letters and distance between lines.
Vertical misalignment A typewriter
alignment defect in which the character prints above
or below its proper position.
Vertical writing Perpendicular to the baseline,
upright writing.
Vertical stroke An upright stroke perpendicular
to the baseline of the writing.
Virgule
A short oblique stroke 'T', between two words indicating
that whichever is appropriate may be chosen to complete
the sense of the text in which they occur; a dividing
line as in dates, fractions, etc. Also called a diagonal,
solidus (in English currency and in fractions), oblique,
slant, and slash mark. Used to mean "or" (as in and/or),
or "per" (as in miles/hour). Separates figures of a
date (e.g., 2/10/97).
Visible
light Rays that can be seen by the human eye, but are
only a part of the complete spectrum of so-called electromagnetic
radiation. Rays of other parts of the spectrum cannot
be seen but can be detected.
Walking
cane A term sometimes given to the initial loop
and stem of some capital letters when the curvature
and design suggests the resemblance.
Whirl
The curving upstroke, usually on letters that have
long loops, but also on some styles of the capital "W."
Whorl
A form composed of spiralling strokes, produced by a
loose, circling writing movement.
Writing
angle The included angle measured from the plane
of the writing surface to the longitudinal axis of the
pen when in writing position.
Writing
movement A three-dimensional pattern of the action
of a writing instrument; variants in the predominating
action of the writing instrument.
Writing
offset The transfer of fresh ink upon contact with
another document producing a mirror image of part of
the writing.
Writing
speed The rate of line generation, sometimes wrongly
regarded to be the rate of word generation, that varies
with the size of the writing.
Writingsystem
The combination of basic letter design and writing movement
prescribed by a publication or taught in a school.
Wrong-handed
writing Any writing executed with the opposite hand
from that normally used, writing of the nondominant
or nonpreferred hand.
X-height
The height of the linear letters (no ascenders or
descenders).
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