Kufic

[ koo-fik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Kufa or its inhabitants.
2. noting or pertaining to the characters of the Arabic alphabet used in the writing of the original Quran, in the time of Muhammad.

noun

1. the Kufic alphabet.

Kufic

/ ˈkuːfɪk; ˈkjuː- /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting an early form of the Arabic alphabet employed in making copies of the Koran

noun

1. the script formed by the letters of this alphabet

Word History and Origins

Origin of Kufic¹

First recorded in 1785–95; Kuf(a) + -ic

Example Sentences

Mr. Gutfeld told The Times they hope to use advanced technology previously used in 2016 to decipher an ancient scroll too fragile to unroll as they seek to translate another stone with an Arabic inscription in the kufic style of calligraphy.

From Washington Times

He recounts how this month he caught a glimpse of a stone slab built into a demolished wall containing engravings in Kufic script, an early style of Arabic calligraphy, while searching in Imam Shafei cemetery, across the street from Sayyida Nafisa.

From BBC

The cathedral’s massive blackened bronze door is carved with intricate, geometric Arabic calligraphy called Kufic and wide enough to let a team of horses through.

From New York Times

The panel was carved in relief in three sections: At the bottom, there was a delicate band of interwoven vines; in the middle, arabesques formed a pattern of three-leaved curls; and the top held a fragment of Persian, in Kufic script: wa alam-e sufli, “ ... and the world of the dead.”

From New York Times

There it was, its swollen pages of gazelle skin inscribed with the bold black letters of the Kufic script.

From New York Times