Definition

1. Noun:

   • The part of a metal typeface that projects beyond its body: In typography, a "kern" is the portion of a metal type character that extends beyond the metal block (or "body") on which the character is cast, allowing letters to fit closer together.
   • A surname: "Kern" is a proper noun, most notably referring to Jerome Kern (1885-1945), a United States composer of musical comedies.

2. Verb:

   • To adjust the spacing between adjacent letters in typography: To "kern" means to reduce the space between specific pairs of letters (e.g., "AV" or "To") to achieve a more visually pleasing and readable text.
   • To furnish with a kern: In traditional printing, this refers to the act of creating or adjusting the projecting part on a piece of type.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Typography):
  • The old printer carefully inspected the kern on the letter "A".
  • In metal typesetting, a kern could easily break if handled roughly.
• Noun (Proper Name):
  • Jerome Kern wrote the music for "Show Boat".
• Verb:
  • The designer had to kern the headline because the "V" and "A" looked too far apart.
  • Modern software allows you to kern text digitally.

Advanced Usage

• Kerning (Gerund/Noun): The process or result of adjusting letter spacing.
  • Good kerning is essential for professional typography.
• Kerned (Adjective): Describes text that has had its letter spacing adjusted.
  • The logo uses a tightly kerned font.

Variants and Related Words

• Kerning (n): The process of adjusting the spacing between characters.
• Kerned (adj): Having undergone kerning.
• Kern pair (n): A specific pair of letters for which kerning is commonly applied (e.g., "Yo").

Synonyms

• Adjust spacing (for the verb).
• Letter-spacing adjustment (conceptually related, though "letter-spacing" or "tracking" often refers to uniform spacing across a range of characters).

Related Phrases/Technical Terms

• Negative kerning: Reducing the space between letters.
• Metrics kerning: Kerning applied automatically based on values built into a font.
• Optical kerning: Kerning adjusted automatically by software based on the visual shape of letters.

Noun

1. the part of a metal typeface that projects beyond its body
2. United States composer of musical comedies (1885-1945)

Verb

1. remove a portion of space between (adjacent letters)
2. furnish with a kern