Fraktur
|frak-tur|
🇺🇸
/frækˈtʊr/
🇬🇧
/frækˈtʊə/
broken-style blackletter
Etymology
'Fraktur' originates from German, specifically the word 'Fraktur', where the element 'fract-' ultimately comes from Latin 'frangere' meaning 'to break'.
'Fraktur' developed from the idea of 'broken' or 'fractured' strokes in medieval script, via Latin 'fractura' and German use of the term, and was borrowed into English as the name of the script.
Initially it referred to the notion of 'breaking' or 'a fracture' (from Latin), but over time the term became specialized to mean the 'broken' appearance of certain letterforms and thus the name of that script family.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a German blackletter (Gothic) typeface family, widely used in German-speaking countries from the 16th century until the early 20th century.
Many 18th- and 19th-century German books were set in Fraktur, which gives them a distinctive appearance.
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Noun 2
a style of handwriting or printed letters characterized by angular, 'broken' strokes (i.e., the broken or fractured appearance of the letterforms).
The certificate was written in Fraktur, making the lettering look ornate and somewhat hard to read for modern readers.
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Last updated: 2025/11/17 08:40