The History of “Uppercase” and “Lowercase”

You always play around uppercase and lowercase letters whenever you write. You’re wired to inflate the first letter of the word—or to put it in uppercase—for proper nouns, and you quickly throw off small letters—those in lowercase—as you scribble common words. Your knowledge of uppercase and lowercase letters shaped up way back in kindergarten, when your teacher presented to the class the two forms of the same letter. As you gained a deeper understanding of the uppercase and the lowercase, have you ever wondered how and where did these two terms come out? If you’re thinking of just value—big letters for important meanings and small letters for not so important ones—you’re on the wrong road. The history of these words is far more interesting than that. Let’s dig it!

The genesis of “uppercase” and “lowercase” involves two cases. Yes, cases—objects used to hold things in place. Storage objects, in short.

Before the dawn of automatic printing press, publishers undertook the laborious production of books through types. A type is a thin metal sheet on which a letter is embossed. The compositor (the person operating the printing press; also called “typesetter”) arranged types by hand on a frame to resemble a portion of the manuscript. After applying ink on the types, he would press them on a paper. This paper would become a page of the book.

When the types were not in use, the compositor kept them in two separate cases: one case held the capital letters, and the other, the small ones. These cases were usually placed on a table. Since majority of the letters in a sentence were small, the case containing the small letters was placed on the table in a completely lying position. In this manner, it’s closer and easier for the printing staffer to reach. Conversely, as capital letters appeared not too often in sentences, the case holding them was situated north of the small-letter case on the table. Specifically, while the big-letter case was positioned adjacently above the small-letter case, it stood in a reclining position, that is, it rested its base on the table while its head leaning on a wall. Here, it’s a bit farther from the compositor but still accessible.

That’s it! The positions of these cases explain the grammar terms “uppercase” and “lowercase.” The small letters were found on the case of lower position, hence, the lowercase letters. As to capital letters, since the case keeping them was placed on an upper position, these letters are called the uppercase letters. How amusing this fact is!

Yes, dear, me, too. The origin of these terms amazed me a great deal, too. Never did I think that “uppercase” and “lowercase” emanated from two literal cases, one situated in an upper position and the other, in a lower. Having cracked the mystery of these terms, you’ll surely have something fun to share with your family and friends. Hit it!

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