fraktur

frak·tur
F4R1A1K5T1U1R1
/ˈfɹæktuːɹ/

noun

A style of black letter type, used especially in German-speaking countries from the 16th century until World War II.

OriginGerman Fraktur ← Latin fractūra ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- →
UncommonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

fraktur1

nounfraktur (countable and uncountable, plural frakturs)

plural frakturs · alternative Fraktur · alternative fractur · alternative obsolete Fractur

  1. countableuncountablemediaA style of black letter type, used especially in German-speaking countries from the 16th century until World War II.
  2. UScountableuncountableA Pennsylvania German document style, incorporating watercolor illustration and fraktur lettering.

Fraktur2

nounFraktur (countable and uncountable, plural Frakturs)

plural Frakturs

  1. countableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of fraktur.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
  2. Latinfrangō
  3. Latinfrāctūrus
  4. Latinfractūra
  5. GermanFraktur
  6. Englishfraktur

First appears c. 1886 as fractur, and c. 1904 as fraktur, from German Fraktur, from Latin frāctūra (“breaking”, noun), from frangere (“to break”), past participle fractus. Compare English fracture, fraction. Doublet of fracture.

More words from German, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: fraktur on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.