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Calligraphy Glossary

sb Caligraphy Glosary
Ascender: The portion of a letter that rises above the waist line.

Ascender line: The guideline showing the height of an ascending letter.

Base line: The writing line that the body of a letter sits upon.

Branching stroke: The stroke which connects an arch to the downstroke of a letter.

Cap line: The guideline showing the height of a capital letter. 

Counter: The (white) space inside a letter.

Cross bar: Horizontal stroke forming part of a letter (such as the "t" or "H").

Descender: The portion of a letter that falls below the base line.

Downstroke: A stroke directed downwards towards the base line or descender line. 

Ductus: The number, direction and sequence of the strokes which make up a letter.

Flourish: A non-structural embellishment added to a letter.

Hairline: A very thin line.

Majuscule: A capital, or upper case letter.

Minuscule: A lower case letter.

Nib: The pen point.
Nib Width: The width of any broad-edged tool. A letter written at 4 nib widths high will appear twice as heavy as one written at 8 nib widths high with the same pen (see illustration above).

Pen angle: The angle at which the nib meets the paper, relative to the base line (see illustration above).

Serif: A small stroke which begins or ends a letter or a part of a letter.Slant: The slope of a letter,
measured from the vertical.

Slant: The slope of a letter, measured from the vertical.
Slant Line: The guideline showing the correct slant.

Spacing:
Counter space: The space inside a letter.
Interletter space: The space between letters.
Interword space: The space between words.

Interlinear space: The space between lines of writing.

Thick: A heavy or blunt stroke.

Thin: A fine stroke, sometimes called a hairline.

Waist line: The guideline showing the correct position for the upper boundary of the x-height.

x-height: The height of a letter or the portion of a letter that sits between the base line and the waist line (the height of the lower case "x").

Related Reference Books
For more information about calligraphy and calligraphy guilds in your area contact the Association for the Calligraphic Arts (ACA).
Association for the Calligraphic Arts
132 Great Road, Suite 200
Stow, MA 01775, U.S.A.
phone: 978-461-0400
fax: 978-897-5442
e-mail: abc@calligraphicarts.org
www.calligraphicarts.org
 


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