A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
glossary E
Egyptian type
Letterforms having square serifs and almost uniform thickness of strokes.
elevated cap
A large initial capital or versal set on the same baseline as the first line of the text.
ellipsis …
A punctuation character consisting of three dots, or periods, in a row. It indicates that a word or phrase has been omitted. To access the ellipsis character in standard Mac typefaces, type option + semicolon.
em / em space / em quad
A measure of distance equal to the body of a capital. In linear measure, a distance equal to the type size, and in square measure, the square of the type size. Thus an em is 12pt (or a 12pt square) in
12pt type. Also called mutton.
em dash –
A dash the length of an em is used to indicate a break in a sentence. To access the ellipsis character in standard Mac typefaces, type option + shift + hyphen.
en / en space / en quad
Half an em. To avoid misunderstanding when instructions are given orally, typographers often speak of ems as “muttons” and ens as “nuts.”
end note
A piece of text associated with the body of a document, like a foot-note
but placed at the end of a section or chapter.
engrossing
Originally, to copy or write in a large hand derived from court hand for formal documents, often elaborate and nearly illegible; in more recent use, hand scripting or calligraphy done on diplomas and certificates, usually in a distinct and legible hand.
epigraphy
The study of lettersin durable materials, such as stone.
epistolary
Of or pertaining to a letter, epistle or personal correspondence.
epsilon Ε ε
Fifth Letter of the Greek Alphabet. The font Symbol most often used on American Computers to Type Cyrillic Letters places it in ASCII 69, the space for capital E.
eta Η
Eighth Letter of the Greek Alphabet. The font Symbol most often used on American Computers to Type Cyrillic Letters places it in ASCII 72, the space for capital H. It looks just like an H.
Euro €
As of 01/28/02, the official currency and symbol for Europe.
exemplar
An alphabet model or book worthy of being copied; a model.
expanded
The length of line required to set the alphabet of small, or lowercase, pica letters is 13 ems. If this alphabet takes more than 13 ems, it is said to be a fat or expanded face. If it takes less space, it is said to be lean or condensed.
expanded type
Type that is elongated in width proportionate to its height.
extended sets
Sets of characters that exist outside of the ASCII char. set including but no exclusively: Latin 1, European Latin, Extended Latin, Standard Phonetic, Modifier Letters, Generic Diacritical, Greek, Cyrillic, Extended Cyrillic, Hebrew, Currency Symbols, Letterlike Symbols, Arrows,Mathematical Operators, Super & Subscript, Form & Chart Components, Blocks, Geometric Shapes, Miscellaneous Technical, Dingbats
extender
Descenders and ascenders; i.e. the parts of the letterform that extend below the baseline, as in p and q, or above the midline, as in b and d.
extensional spec
In a document formatter, the detailed specification of formatting information such as spacing, margins, and font, as opposed to intentional specification, in which the purpose of a passage is described, for example, verse.
eye
Synonym for bowl. But large eye means large x-height. Open eye means large aperture.