S

S (n; Es)

The nineteenth leter of the Latin-based alphabet.

semibold (adj; n: 'sE mi boUld)

A weight of letter darkness between demibold and bold.

semi-raised (n: 'sE mi 'reizd)

An initial letter of a paragraph that rises part-way up out of the text block and into the head margin.

semi-marginal (n: 'sE mi 'mAr dZIn @l)

An initial letter of a paragraph that hangs part-way out of the text block and into the side margin.

serif (n: 'sE rIf)

A projection from a major stem of a letter that is usually not part of the essential structure of a letter. Serifs developed from the motion of writing tools as they begin and end pigment flow. In type, they are stylistic variants that help to maintain stroke ends in low-resolution printing or small sizes, and add visual complexity and reinforcement of letter identity.

sidebar (n: 'sAid bAr)

Extra information for an article that is contained in a separate area on a spread or page. The information is usually secondary to the main article but can be used as a means of attracting the reader to delve into the main article.

sidenotes (n: 'sAid nots)

Notes to the text that are placed in the side margins, instead of at the foot of the page or at the end of the chapter or book.

slab (adj: sl&b)

Denoting a type of serif that is thick and usually rectangular, with no bracketing at the join of serif to stem.

small capitals (n: smOl 'k& pI t@lz)

Greek, Latin, or Cyrillic capital letters that are reduced in size from the standard capitals of a typeface font. Small capitals (small caps) are usually the size of the x-height of the lowercase or slightly larger. Small caps must match the stroke weight and text color of the typeface or they will be too bold or, typically, too light. Small caps that are drawn to match the lowercase and capitals are to be preferred over mechanically scaled and reduced capitals.

sort (n: sor?)

A single piece of metal type. If a typesetter got angry or upset, he probably needed more of a particular letter to finish his text; he was "out of sorts."

spur (adj: spUr)

Denoting a type of serif that is small and pointed, usually neatly bracketed to join smoothly at the stem.

stand-off (n: st&nd Of)

Something that causes two items to stay separated from each other; often used when an image is set into text, and a space is placed around the image to prevent its being too close or right up to the edge of the text.

stem (n: stEm)

A major stroke of a letter, usually vertical. Diagonal stems are found in A and W, but they are often not considered to be stems because of their slant.

stroke (n: strok)

Any large part of a letter. Though serifs are built or written as part of a stroke, they are usually considered to be too small and optional to be considered full strokes.

swell (n: swEl)

The parts of a curved letter where the stroke is thickest.