cross-writing

noun

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.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncross-writing (countable and uncountable, plural cross-writings)

plural cross-writings

  1. countablehistoricaluncountablepostalA 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.
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of cross-write

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
criss-cross writing
Cite this entry
APA

cross-writing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-writing

MLA

“cross-writing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-writing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross-writing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-writing.

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