jot and tittle

Examples of jot and tittle in a sentence

• Then he gave me a Book of Jeſus his inditing, to incourage me the more freely to come: And he ſaid concerning that Book, That every jot and tittle thereof ſtood firmer then Heaven and earth.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page...
• They deſire indeed to be exact in every Jot and Tittle, in the very ſmallest Points of Chriſtian Practice.1745, John Wesley, A Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion. Part III, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and sold by T. Trye, […]; Henry...
• That is not to say, for a regime to be meaningfully constitutional, every jot and tittle of its formal constitutional language must be followed in every case.1993, John C. Donovan, Richard E[rnest] Morgan, Christian P. Potholm, Marcia A. Weigle, “Classifying Political Systems”, in People, Power...
• Software makers pushed into the market with so-called customer-relationship management packages, enabling companies to track each jot and tittle of business they did with buyers.2010, Walter Kiechel [III], “Three Versions of Strategy as People”, in The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New...

Forms of jot and tittle

Origin of jot and tittle

A reference to Matthew 5:18 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The Koine Greek phrase is ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία (iôta hèn ḕ mía keraía). Jot (“the smallest letter or stroke of any writing, iota”) is derived from Middle English jote (“jot, tittle, whit”), from Latin iōta (“the Greek letter iota (Ι, ι)”), from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta, “the letter Ι, ι, the smallest in the alphabet; (figurative) a very small part of writing, jot”), from Phoenician 𐤉 (y‬ /⁠yōd⁠/). Tittle (“small dot, stroke, or diacritical mark; (figurative) small, insignificant amount, modicum, speck”) is derived from Middle English title (“small written mark or stroke; smallest part”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman title, tittle [and other forms], and Middle French titele, title (“inscription”) (modern French titre), and from their etymon Latin titulus (“epitaph, inscription”); further etymology uncertain, but thought to be of Etruscan origin.

Related words

• dot the i's and cross the t's

Words that rhyme with jot and tittle

• little
• brittle
• acquittal
• skittle
• committal
• victual
• whittle
• spittle
• belittle
• it'll
• pittle
• wittol

Questions about jot and tittle

What does jot and tittle mean?

Jot and tittle means often preceded by every: a smallest detail; (uncountable) the smallest details collectively.

How do you use jot and tittle in a sentence?

Then he gave me a Book of Jeſus his inditing, to incourage me the more freely to come: And he ſaid concerning that Book, That every jot and tittle thereof ſtood firmer then Heaven and earth.

What part of speech is jot and tittle?

Jot and tittle is a noun.

How do you pronounce jot and tittle?

Jot and tittle is pronounced /ˌdʒɒt n̩ ˈtɪtl̩/ (UK).

What is the plural of jot and tittle?

The plural of jot and tittle is jots and tittles.