In the old meaning, a "font" (or "fount") was a specific set of pieces of hot lead coming from a foundry (letters, numbers, etc... probably containing lots of Es and very few Xs!) which were all "similar" -- in particular, same size, style, weight.
A typeface was (and is) more of a distinctive visual look.
E.g. A set of pieces that we might call "12 point italic Arial" was a font. "Arial" is a typeface.
Or, in terms more familiar to TeX users: Computer Modern Roman 10 pt (cmr10), Computer Modern Sans Serif 8 pt (cmss8), etc. are fonts. "Computer Modern" is a typeface, and includes all of them.
On the subject of fonts...
ReplyDeleteFonts v/s typefaces:
ReplyDeleteIn the old meaning, a "font" (or "fount") was a specific set of pieces of hot lead coming from a foundry (letters, numbers, etc... probably containing lots of Es and very few Xs!) which were all "similar" -- in particular, same size, style, weight.
A typeface was (and is) more of a distinctive visual look.
E.g. A set of pieces that we might call "12 point italic Arial" was a font. "Arial" is a typeface.
Or, in terms more familiar to TeX users:
Computer Modern Roman 10 pt (cmr10),
Computer Modern Sans Serif 8 pt (cmss8),
etc. are fonts.
"Computer Modern" is a typeface, and includes all of them.