Parts of Type

 

Apex- This refers to the pointed end of a character that reaches above the height of the other characters in a font.

Arm- In typography it is a horizontal or upward, sloping stroke that does not connect to a stem or stroke on one or both ends.

Ascender- This is an upward piece of a letterform that reaches above the x-height and usually above the cap height.

Baseline- The invisible line where letters rest.

Bowl- This is the curved part of a character that encloses the circular or curved parts of letter, such as ‘d’ or ‘b’.

Cap height- When the height of a capital letter is above the baseline for a certain typeface.

Counter- This is the area of a letter that is entirely or even potentially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol.

Crossbar- Refers to the horizontal stroke that connects two more strokes in a letterform.

Descender- This is the portion of a letter that extends below the baseline of a font.

Ear- This is when a finishing stroke appears on the upper right side of the bowl. An example is a lower case ‘g’.

Finial- When there is a tapered or curved end on a letter, such as ‘e’ and ‘c’.

Ligature- Where two or more letters are joined to form a single glyph.

Serif- A small line or stroke that regularly attaches to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a certain font or family of fonts.

Spine- The main left to right curving stroke in ‘S’.

Stem- This is the main vertical stroke in a letter.

Terminal- Refers to the ending of a stroke.

x-height- The distance that is between the baseline and the mean line of lowercase letters in a typeface.