cross-writings

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

noun
  1. pluralplural of cross-writing
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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