cross writing

A form of cross-writing — A 19th-century technique for saving paper and postage by writing a letter in one direction, then turning the page ninety degrees and writing perpendicularly across the first set of text, creating two layers of text; a practical solution to expensive postal rates, especially before modern postal reforms, allowing more information to fit on a single sheet.

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Meanings

nouncross writing (plural cross writings)

plural cross writings

  1. alternativeAlternative form of cross-writing.
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of cross write
Cite this entry
APA

cross writing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20writing

MLA

“cross writing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20writing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross writing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20writing.

Source: cross writing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.