jot and tittle
Often preceded by every: a smallest detail; (uncountable) the smallest details collectively.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He checks every jot and tittle of the contract.”
“The lawyer reviewed the document carefully, making sure every jot and tittle was correct before signing.”
“The scholar spent years analyzing the ancient manuscript, obsessing over every jot and tittle to ensure her translation remained perfectly accurate.”
disputed origin
The phrase refers to Matthew 5:18 in the King James Version of the Bible, where the text states that neither one jot nor one tittle shall pass from the law until all be fulfilled. The English expression translates the Koine Greek ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία (iôta hèn ḕ mía keraía).
Jot is derived from Middle English jote, from Latin iōta, and ultimately from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα, the smallest letter in that alphabet. This in turn is traced to the Phoenician letter yōd. Tittle, denoting a small stroke or diacritical mark, arrived via Middle English and Anglo-Norman from the Latin titulus, meaning an inscription or epitaph. While the further etymology of the Latin term is unconfirmed, it is thought to be of Etruscan origin.
Last updated August 10, 2026