SERIF
What does "SERIF" mean?
A small finishing stroke at the end of a letter's main strokes in some typefaces.
Meanings
- A short line or foot extending from the strokes of a printed letter. The little feet on the bottom of an 'm' are its serifs. technical
- Designating a typeface that has such finishing strokes. Times New Roman is a classic serif font. technical
Did you know?
- The opposite of a serif font is 'sans-serif' - literally French for 'without serif' - which is why Helvetica and Arial have clean, footless letters.
Word origin
First recorded in 1830s English, probably from Dutch 'schreef' (a line or stroke), related to 'schrijven' (to write), from Latin 'scribere'.
Remember it
A SERIF is the little foot a letter wears; SANS-serif is French for 'without' those feet.
A little poem
Each letter, like a dancer, ends on pointed feet-
tiny serifs the eye obeys but cannot meet.
couplet
Wordplay
- Why did the bare letter feel underdressed? It went out sans serif and forgot to put its little feet on.
What it teaches
The smallest finishing touches are the ones the eye trusts without ever noticing them.
Quick facts
What does SERIF mean?
A small finishing stroke at the end of a letter's main strokes in some typefaces.
Is SERIF a valid word?
Yes — SERIF is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SERIF?
SERIF has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does SERIF come from?
First recorded in 1830s English, probably from Dutch 'schreef' (a line or stroke), related to 'schrijven' (to write), from Latin 'scribere'.
What can SERIF teach us?
The smallest finishing touches are the ones the eye trusts without ever noticing them.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.