| font |
| Definition: A stylistically unified set of glyphs representing letters, numerals, ideograms, punctuation marks, and symbols. Note: The terms typeface and font are often used synonymously. Some claim that the distinction between them is that fonts are proprietary, whereas typefaces are not. |
| Example: The words in this sentence are displayed in some font. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Middle French fonte, the feminine past participle of fondre, melt. Note: Fonts were so called because all of the letters of a particular font were usually cast from the same batch of melted iron. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the word in the sense typeface is from 1683: "Fount is the whole number of Letters that are Cast of the same Body and Face at one time." (Moxon Printing No. ii. 32. 13) |