{"id":3016,"date":"2010-10-20T07:30:45","date_gmt":"2010-10-20T14:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=3016"},"modified":"2012-11-27T23:27:45","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T07:27:45","slug":"what-the-dot-over-the-lower-case-letter-i-is-called","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/10\/what-the-dot-over-the-lower-case-letter-i-is-called\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Dot Over the Lower Case Letter \u201ci\u201d is Called"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tittle<\/a>

Expression and poster used in WWII, warning soldiers that if they idly chatted about their mission, the enemy could learn their plans.<\/p><\/div>\n

Today I found out<\/a> what the dot over the lower case letter “i” is called, namely a “tittle”.<\/p>\n

While this isn’t a commonly used word any longer, the expression “jot or tittle” still endures in some places, meaning something to the effect of “a very small amount” or “iota”.\u00a0 A classic example of this expression can be seen in the Gospel of Matthew (5:18): “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (NKJV)<\/p>\n

The word “tittle” itself comes to us from the same Latin word that “title” derived from, but has since come to mean something very different, namely a small stroke or mark in writing, generally referring to the dot over the lower case letter “i”, when used at all.<\/p>\n

Another expression that is associated with “tittle” is the expression “to a T”, being a shortened version of “to a tittle”, meaning “precise \/ exact down to every last detail”.\u00a0 As much as a hundred years before “to a T” first showed up, “to a tittle” was a common expression meaning the exact same thing as “to a T” came to mean, so it is thought the former led to the latter.<\/p>\n

Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n