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font

n. · v.
US //ˈfɑnt// UK //fˈɒnt// font
  1. 1 text style (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Computing

    a set of letters and numbers that all have the same design and style.

    a complete set of characters in a specific typeface, style, and weight used in printing or digital display.

    Example

    You should use a clear font like Arial for your job application.

    Example

    The graphic designer experimented with various serif fonts to find one that conveyed the appropriate level of authority for the law firm's branding.

    Usage

    In modern digital contexts, 'font' and 'typeface' are often used interchangeably by laypeople.
  2. 2 church basin (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Religion

    a large stone bowl in a church that holds water for baptisms.

    a stone or metal receptacle in a church used to hold holy water, specifically for the rite of baptism.

    Example

    The priest stood by the stone font during the baby's baptism.

    Example

    The medieval church features an ornate baptismal font carved from a single block of local limestone.
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  1. 3 a source (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary

    a source of something, like knowledge or information.

    a source or wellspring of a particular quality or type of information.

    Example

    My grandfather was a font of wisdom about local history.

    Example

    The professor proved to be a font of obscure data, providing the researchers with leads they had previously overlooked.

    Teacher's tip

    In this metaphorical sense, 'fount' is a common alternative spelling in British English.
  2. 4 to add text to video (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Informal Computing

    to put text or titles over a video or television picture.

    to overlay text, such as titles or captions, onto a video signal or television broadcast.

    Example

    The editor needed to font the names of the speakers at the bottom of the screen.

    Example

    The production assistant was responsible for fonting the live broadcast with real-time social media updates from the audience.
Etymology 1

From Old English font, an early borrowing from Latin fōns, fontis (“fountain”).

Etymology 2

From Middle French fonte (“act or process of founding or melting; act of producing items from molten metal; cast iron; set of type”) (modern French fonte), either: from fondre (“to melt, melt down; to smelt”), from Old French fondre, from Latin fundere, the present active infinitive of fundō (“to pour out; to make by smelting, found”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰewd- (“to pour”); or from Late Latin fundita, a noun use of funditus, a perfect passive participle form of Latin fundō (see above; the classical Latin form is fūsus).

Etymology 3

Apparently from fount, with influence from the senses above (under etymology 1).

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