black letter

noun

: a heavy angular condensed typeface used especially by the earliest European printers and based on handwriting used chiefly in the 13th to 15th centuries

also : this style of handwriting

Illustration of black letter

Word History

First Known Use

1639, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

black-letter

adjective

black-let·​ter

: having wide acceptance and great authority and often written down

black-letter law