Typeface anatomy
graphic elements that make up printed letters in a typeface
Typeface anatomy describes the graphic elements that make up letters in a typeface or font (a specific size, slope, and style of a typeface).
Strokes
The strokes are the components of a letterform. Stroke shape in many typefaces is influenced by historical methods of writing, such as the shape of a tool, the angle at which it is applied, and the degree of pressure used.
Terminology
Strokes may be straight, as in k l v w x z, or curved, as in c o s. If straight, they may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; if curved, open or closed. Typographers also speak of an instroke, where one starts writing the letter, as at the top of a c f, and an outstroke, where the pen leaves off, as at the bottom of c e j k t y.
A main vertical stroke is a stem. The letter m has three, the left, middle, and right stems. The central stroke of an s is known as the spine. When the stroke is part of a lowercase and rises above the height of an x (the x height), it is known as an ascender.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7860928. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Typeface anatomy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.