Etymology and the Brain, 4

And typeface. What is typeface? According to Wikipedia, a typeface is a set of characters that share common design features (all of one style) and sometimes one size. There are thousands of different typefaces in existence. Moreover, new ones are being developed constantly, which can be disconcerting to a brain that prefers one style and energizing to a brain that enjoys variety. There is even a term font paralysis to describe a situation wherein an individual cannot even decide on the type of font to use. According to typewolf.com, “Open Sans is the new Arial.” The typeface Times New Roman has perhaps been the most widely used typeface in more modern times. Originally created for a British newspaper The Times in 1931, it was adopted for use in Microsoft products, beginning in 1992 with Windows 3.1. While it may be splitting hairs to talk about a typeface versus a font, typeface designates a consistent visual appearance or style which can be a family or related set of fonts. A font designates a specific member of a type family such as roman, italic, or boldface type. And stenograph? More tomorrow.