Typography Glossary

Facsimile Electronic representation of images, often entire documents, for transmission over a distance, frequently by a telephone or computer network using digital encoding.

Family A related set of typefaces.

Fields The portions of a displayed frame that are scanned alternately in an interlaced refreshing scheme. In broadcast television, the lines in the two fields alternate, and each field contains half of the scan lines.

Figure (perception) The object seen, as separated in the act of seeing from everything else in the image.

Figure (typography) A picture or diagram that may be included within the body of a typeset document.

Figures (lining) Modern numbers, all of which rest on the baseline.

Figures (nonlining) Old-styled numbers, some of which (3,4,5,7,9) descend below the baseline.

Fill The graphical operation of reproducing a pattern or colour through, out a bounded area.

Fixation The stopping of the eye to sample the visual scene. Even during fixations, there are continual small motions of the eye.

Fixed pitch Monospaced type.

Fleuron A printer's flower or ornament.

Flicker fusion frequency The temporal rate of intensity variation of alight or image at which a particular person sees the light as steady. Flicker-fusion frequency varies from person to person, with the degree of modulation of the intensity variation, and with the angle from the centre of the visual field.

Floating object An illustration, table, or diagram that the document formatter is free to place in various places relative to the running text.

Flower A printer's decorative symbol. Also called a fleuron.

Flush left Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the right, and the text is against the left margin. Also called ragged right.

Flush right Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the left, and the text is against the right margin.

Folio A page number, for example as part of a running head or foot.

Font A set of characters. In the world of metal type, this means a given alphabet, with all its accessory characters, in a given size. In the world of digital type, it is the character set itself or the digital information encoding it.

Footnote A floating note associated with a location and reference mark in a text and displayed at the bottom of the page on which the mark occurs.

Foreground The image or figure, as opposed to the background.

Foundry Originally, a factory in which metal type is made; now any maker of type.

Fourier transform The mathematical transformation that allows a function in time or space to be examined in terms of its frequency components.

Fovea In the eye, the small, central region of the retina that exhibits the greatest sensitivity to detail and colour.

INDEX
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TYPE
TYPE CLASSIFICATION
THE FONT POOL
PAGE LAYOUT GUIDE
LOGO TYPE GUIDE
MIXING TYPE
TYPOGRAPHY SOFTWARE
TYPE CHOICE

Sources:

Rubinststein, Richard. [1988] Digial Typography: An Introduction to Type and Composition for Computer System Design. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Blue Dot's typoGRAPHIC.
The comp.fonts FAQ.

There have been .
© Kevin Woodward 1997.

	Facsimile	Electronic representation of images, often entire documents, for transmission over a distance, frequently by a telephone or computer network using digital encoding.
	Family	A related set of typefaces.
	Fields	The portions of a displayed frame that are scanned alternately in an interlaced refreshing scheme. In broadcast television, the lines in the two fields alternate, and each field contains half of the scan lines.
	Figure (perception)	The object seen, as separated in the act of seeing from everything else in the image.
	Figure (typography)	A picture or diagram that may be included within the body of a typeset document.
	Figures (lining)	Modern numbers, all of which rest on the baseline.
	Figures (nonlining)	Old-styled numbers, some of which (3,4,5,7,9) descend below the baseline.
	Fill	The graphical operation of reproducing a pattern or colour through, out a bounded area.
	Fixation	The stopping of the eye to sample the visual scene. Even during fixations, there are continual small motions of the eye.
	Fixed pitch	Monospaced type.
	Fleuron	A printer's flower or ornament.
	Flicker fusion frequency	The temporal rate of intensity variation of alight or image at which a particular person sees the light as steady. Flicker-fusion frequency varies from person to person, with the degree of modulation of the intensity variation, and with the angle from the centre of the visual field.
	Floating object	An illustration, table, or diagram that the document formatter is free to place in various places relative to the running text.
	Flower	A printer's decorative symbol. Also called a fleuron.
	Flush left	Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the right, and the text is against the left margin. Also called ragged right.
	Flush right	Setting lines of text so that any extra space is on the left, and the text is against the right margin.
	Folio	A page number, for example as part of a running head or foot.
	Font	A set of characters. In the world of metal type, this means a given alphabet, with all its accessory characters, in a given size. In the world of digital type, it is the character set itself or the digital information encoding it.
	Footnote	A floating note associated with a location and reference mark in a text and displayed at the bottom of the page on which the mark occurs.
	Foreground	The image or figure, as opposed to the background.
	Foundry	Originally, a factory in which metal type is made; now any maker of type.
	Fourier transform	The mathematical transformation that allows a function in time or space to be examined in terms of its frequency components.
	Fovea	In the eye, the small, central region of the retina that exhibits the greatest sensitivity to detail and colour.