Plene scriptum

In orthography, a plene scriptum (Latin for 'fully written') is a word containing an additional letter, usually one which is superfluous – not normally written in that word – nor needed for the proper comprehension of the word. Today, the term applies mostly to sacred scripture.

Examples of plene scripta appear frequently in classical Hebrew texts, and copyists are obliged to copy them unchanged, to ensure that biblical or other sacred texts are written with universal conformity. The expression plene scriptum (יתר, yater, 'excess'), sometimes simply described in Hebrew as מלא (malé, 'full'), is often used in contrast with defective scriptum (חסר, ḥaser, 'deficient'), the latter implying a word in which a letter that is normally present has been omitted. Together, plene and defective scripta are sometimes described using the Hebrew phrase יתר וחסר, yater we-ḥaser.

The original use of the phrase plene scriptum seems to mean Latin characters written without using abbreviations.