letterform

noun

let·​ter·​form ˈle-tər-ˌfȯrm 

: the shape of a letter of an alphabet especially from the standpoint of design or development

Examples of letterform in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gill was a stonecutter and engraver, and the original letterforms were carved in stone, not drawn or inked. —Eviana Hartman, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024

Truth in the way words feel tossed about the top of your tongue, in the slanting of letterforms, in slips o fthe pen, in (the volume of the words in) parentheses. —WIRED, 2 Aug. 2023

These historians uncovered evidence that the Attic letterform had continued to be used in official documents long after 446 BCE. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 10 Mar. 2022

Swift Student is a free website that’ll provide students with letterforms to send to financial aid offices based on their personal situation. —Lily Jackson | [e-mail], al, 21 Apr. 2020

Here are gorgeous, innovative artworks in which the bare minimum of elements (Euclidean geometry, photographs, illustrations and letterforms) or complex collages incorporating multiple mediums are all naturally synthesized. —Lance Esplund, WSJ, 18 Jan. 2020

Some advances have been shown directly on the cover, such as a digital letterform in May 1969 (above). —Nicholas Rougeux, Scientific American, 26 Dec. 2019

Called Stack, the font is built from stacking (clever, right?) different varieties of bricks atop one another to create blocky letterforms. —Liz Stinson, Curbed, 7 June 2018

Here are a couple visual comparisons: Palatino’s letterforms are wider and slightly more rounded than Crimson Text’s. —Kjell Reigstad, Longreads, 25 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above