glossary of calligraphy terms - beth lee — calligraphy … · 2016-01-18 · glossary of...

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Beth Lee, Calligrapher [email protected] www.callibeth.com GLOSSARY OF CALLIGRAPHY TERMS ascender a stroke which rises above the waistline. base line writing line; see diagram. counter the open or white space within a letter. descender a stroke which drops below the writing line, or base line. ductus the prescribed number, order and direction of strokes to make each letter. foot the terminal, usually bent, portion of a leg or stem. leg the secondary or tertiary stroke of h, m, n, u. ligature a joining or fusion of two or more letters; the thin oblique stroke which joins cursive letters. majuscule a capital or uppercase letter. minuscule a small or lowercase letter. pen angle the angle of the pen edge to the writing line pen width the breadth of a pen edge; pen widths are used to measure the distance between base line and waistline, and between waistline and ascender and descender guidelines. serif an ornamental end or beginning of a stem or leg. stem the “backbone” of a letter; its central stroke. swash a flourished stroke. waist line upper guideline for minuscules; see diagram. xheight the height of minuscule letters without ascenders or descenders; in other words, the distance between the base line and the waist line. weight the boldness of the alphabet, measured in penwidths. white space area not filled by ink – the spaces between letters and lines, including counters.

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Page 1: GLOSSARY OF CALLIGRAPHY TERMS - Beth Lee — Calligraphy … · 2016-01-18 · GLOSSARY OF CALLIGRAPHY TERMS ... Microsoft Word - glossary 2011.docx Author: Beth Created Date: 12/14/2011

Beth Lee, Calligrapher [email protected] www.callibeth.com

GLOSSARY OF CALLIGRAPHY TERMS  

 

ascender  a stroke which rises above the waistline. 

base line  writing line; see diagram. 

counter  the open or white space within a letter. 

descender  a stroke which drops below the writing line, or base line. 

ductus  the prescribed number, order and direction of strokes to make each letter. 

foot  the terminal, usually bent, portion of a leg or stem. 

leg  the secondary or tertiary stroke of h, m, n, u. 

ligature  a joining or fusion of two or more letters; the thin oblique stroke which joins 

cursive letters. 

majuscule  a capital or uppercase letter. 

minuscule  a small or lowercase letter. 

pen angle  the angle of the pen edge to the writing line 

pen width  the breadth of a pen edge; pen widths are used to measure the distance 

between base line and waistline, and between waistline and ascender and 

descender guidelines. 

serif  an ornamental end or beginning of a stem or leg. 

stem  the “backbone” of a letter; its central stroke. 

swash  a flourished stroke. 

waist line  upper guideline for minuscules; see diagram. 

x‐height  the height of minuscule letters without ascenders or descenders; in other words, 

the distance between the base line and the waist line. 

weight  the boldness of the alphabet, measured in pen‐widths. 

white space  area not filled by ink – the spaces between letters and lines, including counters.