font
pronunciation
How to pronounce font in British English:
UK [fɒnt]
How to pronounce font in American English:
US [fɑnt]
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- Noun:
- a specific size and style of type within a type family
- bowl for baptismal water
Word Origin
- font
- font: English has two words font. The older, ‘basin for baptismal water’ [OE], comes from font-, the stem of Latin fons ‘spring, fountain’ (from which English also gets fountain). It may well have been introduced into the language via Old Irish fant or font (it was often spelled fant in Old English). Font ‘set of type’ [16] (or fount, as it is often also spelled) was borrowed from French fonte, a derivative of fondre ‘melt’ (whence also English fondant, fondu, and foundry).=> fountain; fondant, foundry
- font (n.1)
- "water basin," especially used in baptism, late Old English, from Latin fons (genitive fontis) "fountain" (see fountain), especially in Medieval Latin fons baptismalis "baptismal font." The word is sometimes used poetically for "a fountain; a source."
- font (n.2)
- "complete set of characters of a particular face and size of type," 1680s (also fount), earlier "a casting" (1570s), from Middle French fonte "a casting," noun use of fem. past participle of fondre "to melt" (see found (v.2)). So called because all the letters in a given set were cast at the same time.
Example
- 1. It 's all colorful blocks and a new font .
- 2. Don 't overstyle it : it 's important to get the right font and font size on your resume .
- 3. That 's your optimal font size .
- 4. Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty points .
- 5. An unobtrusive library for using any font on a website .