*uncial*

a. Of or pertaining to pronunciation; pronunciative. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ L. quincuncialis, from quincunx. See Quincunx. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Having the form of a quincunx. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Having the leaves of a pentamerous calyx or corolla so imbricated that two are exterior, two are interior, and the other has one edge exterior and one interior; as, quincuncial æstivation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Quincuncial phyllotaxy (Bot.), an arrangement of five leaves in a spiral, each leaf two fifths of a circle from the next. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In the manner or order of a quincunx. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. uncialis amounting to the twelfth part of a pound or a foot, from uncia the twelfth part of a pound or of a foot, an ounce, an inch: cf. F. oncial. See Inch a measure. ] Of, pertaining to, or designating, a certain style of letters used in ancient manuscripts, esp. in Greek and Latin manuscripts. The letters are somewhat rounded, and the upstrokes and downstrokes usually have a slight inclination. These letters were used as early as the 1st century b. c., and were seldom used after the 10th century a. d., being superseded by the cursive style. [ 1913 Webster ]