font

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /fɑnt/ UK /fɒnt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a set of type of one design and size; a basin for baptismal water

The printer chose a serif font for the body of the book.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a set of type of one design... typefaceface fount basin source

Word family

Related forms fount fountain found

Simplified etymology

Font meaning a basin for baptism is an Old English word belonging to the Latin root associated with fontana, “spring.” The unrelated printing sense, recorded from the late 16th century, derives from French fondre, “to melt,” because type was made from melted and cast metal.

Etymology

From Middle French fonte ('a casting'), from fondre ('to melt, cast'), from Latin fundere ('to pour, cast'). The baptismal-basin sense is separately from Latin fons, fontis ('spring, fountain').

fonte Middle French fundere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# font

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /fɑnt/
**IPA (UK):** /fɒnt/

## Meanings
1. a set of type of one design and size; a basin for baptismal water

## Examples
- The printer chose a serif font for the body of the book.

## Synonyms
- typeface
- face
- fount
- basin
- source

## Related Forms
- fount
- fountain
- found

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fonte
- Root: fundere

## Etymology
From Middle French fonte ('a casting'), from fondre ('to melt, cast'), from Latin fundere ('to pour, cast'). The baptismal-basin sense is separately from Latin fons, fontis ('spring, fountain').

## AI Etymology
Font comes from Middle French fonte ('a casting'), from fondre ('to melt, cast'), from Latin fundere ('to pour, cast'). The baptismal-basin sense is separately from Latin fons, fontis ('spring, fountain'). The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a set of type of one design and size; a basin for baptismal water", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as fount, fountain, and found, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Middle French fonte and Latin fundere, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes typeface, face, fount, and basin, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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