elephant

en-noun

elephant (countable and uncountable, plural elephants)

→ Hawaiian: ʻelepani

→ Maori: arewhana

→ Tokelauan: elefane

→ Tongan: ʻelefanite

→ Welsh: eliffant

From Middle English elefant, elefaunt, from Old French elefant, elefan, olifant, re-latinized in Middle French as elephant, from Latin elephantus, from Ancient Greek ἐλέφᾱς (eléphās) (gen. ἐλέφαντος (eléphantos)). Believed to be derived from an Afroasiatic form such as Proto-Berber *eḷu (“elephant”) (compare Tamahaq êlu, Tamasheq alu) or Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant; ivory”). More at ivory. Replaced Middle English olifant (from the aforementioned Old French form, from Vulgar Latin *olifantus), which replaced Old English elpend (“elephant”).

elephant trunk

Pachypodium namaquanum or Agave attenuata

elephant tortoise

Testudo gigantea or Testudo elaphantopus

elephant yam

Amorphophallus konjac or Amorphophallus paeoniifolius

Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant

(paper, printing) Synonym of elephant paper


f

Abbreviations.
f
# (stenoscript) Abbreviation of for.
# (stenoscript) prefix for-.
# (stenoscript) suffix/sequence for(e).

ng

prefix <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">for-</i>.

(printing, abbreviation) Folio, paper and book size (10"-12.5" x 15"-20")


English

en-noun

English (countable and uncountable, plural English or Englishes)

From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)).

cog

(printing, dated) A size of type between pica (12 point) and great primer (18 point), standardized as 14-point.


star

Sranan Tongo: stari
Aukan: sitali

→ Finnish: stara

→ French: star

→ German: Star

→ Italian: star

→ Swahili: staa

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster, stella, étoile, and estoile.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots starn, ster, North Frisian steer, West Frisian stjer, Saterland Frisian Stiern, Dutch ster, Luxembourgish Stär, German Stern, Yiddish שטערן (shtern), Vilamovian śtaom, Swedish stjärna, Norwegian stjerne, Icelandic stjarna, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō), Spanish estrella, Portuguese estrela, Italian stella, Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Venetan stéła, Sicilian stidda, Sardinian isteddu, Mirandese streilha, Walloon sitoele, Romansch staila, Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă, Istriot stila, Istro-Romanian ste, Latin stēlla, Greek αστέρι (astéri), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr), Old Armenian աստղ (astł), Persian ستاره (setâre), Tajik ситора (sitora), Pashto ستوری (storay), Mazanderani اساره (ëssâre), Northern Kurdish stêr, Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre), Zazaki astare, Ossetian стъалы (st’aly), Hindi तारा (tārā), Urdu تارا (tārā), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā), Gujarati તારો (tāro), Sanskrit तारा (tārā).

аеҵǝа

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other

Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.

1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:

(printing) An asterisk (*) or symbol (★).


German

en-noun

German (countable and uncountable, plural Germans)

/ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/

From Latin Germānus, Germānī (“the peoples of Germānia”), as distinct from Gauls (in the writings of Caesar and Tacitus), and of uncertain ultimate origin (possibly Celtic/Gaulish).
Not related to german (“closely related”) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French).
Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more.
The surname is generally from the noun, though sometimes confused with Herman, Hermann under Russian influence. As a German surname, Americanized from Germann. Compare Germán, Germain, Jerman.

(uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type between American and Saxon, 1+¹⁄₂-point type.


letter

From Middle English letter, lettre, from Old French letre, from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet"; in plural, "epistle”), from Etruscan, from Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā, “tablet”). Related to diphtheria. Displaced Old English bōcstæf (literally “book staff”) in sense 1 and ǣrendġewrit (literally “message writing”) in sense 2.

displaced

Under these, thro’ a garden in which is an ample fountaine, was the King's printing-house, and that famous letter so much esteem’d.

1644 February 18 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 8 February 1644]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 41:

(printing, dated) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.


DOD

(printing) Initialism of drop-on-demand.


bank

Probably from French banc. Of Germanic origin, and akin to English bench.

(archaic, printing) A kind of table used by printers.


take

Brill Publishers
Helmut Rix
Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben

From Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”), from Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse taka (“to touch, take”), from Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to touch”), from pre-Germanic *deh₁g- (“to touch”), possibly a phonetically altered form of Proto-Indo-European *te-th₂g- (“to touch, take”) (see there for details).
Cognate with Scots tak, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”), Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”), Swedish ta (“to take”), Danish tage (“to take, seize”), Middle Dutch taken (“to grasp”), Dutch taken (“to take; grasp”), Middle Low German tacken (“to grasp”). English thack may be from the same root. Compare tackle. Unrelated to Lithuanian tèkti (“to receive, be granted”), which is instead cognate with English thig.
Gradually displaced Middle English nimen (“to take”; see nim), from Old English niman (“to take”).

noncog

When the copy arrives, it is taken in hand by the printer, who first of all divides it into "takes" or short portions, distributing these among the various compositors. A take usually consists of a little more than a stickful of matter, but it varies sometimes, for if a new paragraph occurs it is not overlooked. These takes are carefully numbered, and a list is kept of the compositors who take the several pieces.

1884, John Southward, chapter XXI, in Practical Printing: A Handbook of the Art of Typography, second edition, London: J. M. Powell & Son, page 197:

(printing) The quantity of copy given to a compositor at one time.


offset

From off- + set, used to construct the noun form of the verb to set off. Compare Middle English ofsetten (“to encumber, harass, beset, besiege”), from Old English ofsettan (“to press, oppress, overwhelm, crush”).

cog

offset lithographs

offset process

(printing, often attributive) The offset printing process, in which ink is carried from a metal plate to a rubber blanket and from there to the printing surface.


cast

en-verb

cast (third-person singular simple present casts, present participle casting, simple past and past participle cast or (nonstandard) casted)

casts (present singular third-person)
casting (participle present)
cast (participle past)
cast (past)
casted (nonstandard participle past)
casted (nonstandard past)
cast (infinitive)

New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *kas-
Proto-Germanic *kastōną
Old Norse kastabor.
Middle English casten
English cast
From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin.
Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp.
The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

cog

let he who is without sin cast the first stone

let him that is without sin cast the first stone

let him who is without sin cast the first stone

To shape (molten metal etc.) by pouring into a mould; to make (an object) in such a way.

(printing, dated) To stereotype or electrotype.


Saxon

→ Korean: 색슨 (saekseun)

→ Welsh: Sacson

Partially from Middle English Saxe, Sax; from Old English *Seaxa (attested in plural Seaxan), and Saxoun, from Old French *Saxoun, Saxon (“Saxon”), from Late Latin Saxōnem, accusative of Saxō (“a Saxon”), both from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“rock, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of Sais.
Cognates
Cognate with Middle Low German sasse (“someone speaking Saxon, i.e. (Middle) Low German”), Old English Seaxa (“a Saxon”), Old High German Sahso (“a Saxon”), Icelandic Saxi (“a Saxon”), Estonian saks (“lord; German”), Finnish Saksa (“Germany”). Also cognate to Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”); more at sax.

(uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type between German and Norse, 2-point type.


parallel

From Middle French parallèle, borrowed from Latin parallelus.

(printing) A character consisting of two parallel vertical lines, used in the text to direct attention to a similarly marked note in the margin or at the foot of a page.


square

→ Welsh: sgwâr

From Middle English square, sqware, squyre; from Old French esquarre, esquerre, (modern French équerre), from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, from Latin ex- + quadro, from quadrus (compare English quad and quadra). Doublet of squad and squadra.
Displaced Old English fēowerecge (fēower nominative + ecg accusative, as in "four-edged").

Coordinate term: column inch

Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.

(printing) A certain number of lines, forming a portion of a column, nearly square; used chiefly in reckoning the prices of advertisements in newspapers.


ass

From Middle English asse, from Old English assa, back-formed from assen (“she-ass”), from Celtic (compare Old Irish asan, Old Cornish asen), from Latin asinus. Displaced Old English esol, from Proto-West Germanic *asil, also a loanword from the same Latin word. Sense “stupid person” from the animal's reputation for stubbornness, going back to antiquity (compare Latin asinus (“slow-witted person”)).

Sometimes by way of joke, and sometimes by way of irritation, compositors are called Asses by the pressmen.

[1841, William Savage, Dictionary of the Art of Printing, page 24:

(printing, slang, obsolete) A compositor.


case

From Middle English case, from Old Northern French casse, (compare Old French chasse (“box, chest, case”)), from Latin capsa (“box, bookcase”), from capiō (“to take, seize, hold”). Doublet of cash, chase, and chasse. Compare Spanish caja, Asturian caxa.

(printing, historical) A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).

դուրճ

(printing, historical) a shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type


flower

en-noun

flower (countable and uncountable, plural flowers)

flour (for people who pronounce flower as one syllable, or flour as two)

From Middle English flour, from Anglo-Norman flur, from Latin flōrem, accusative of flōs, from Proto-Italic *flōs, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). Doublet of flour.
Partly displaced native Old English blostma, whence Modern English blossom.

der

I pointed out to the late Mr. Catherwood, of the firm of Caslon and Catherwood, the inconvenience of both these modes of cutting flowers,

1841, William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing:

(printing) Ornamental type used chiefly for borders around pages, cards, etc.


turtle

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

(printing, historical) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.


alligator

]
From early Modern English alligater, alligarta, aligarto, alegarto, alagarto, from Spanish el lagarto (“the lizard”), from Latin lacertus (“lizard”), modern spelling possibly influenced by the unrelated Latin alligator (“one who binds”).

Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.


emerald

en-noun

emerald (countable and uncountable, plural emeralds)

→ Welsh: emrald, emrallt

From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebrew בָּרֶקֶת (bāréqeṯ, “emerald, flashing gem”), Akkadian 𒁀𒊏𒄣 (baraqu, literally “scintillation”), Arabic بَرْق (barq, literally “flashing”), Egyptian bwyrqꜣ (literally “to sparkle”):D58-Z7-Z4:D21-N29-Z1-G1-D6 and loanwords with Semitic etymon such as Sanskrit मरकत (marakata) and Persian زمرد (zomorrod) (whence Turkish zümrüt and Russian изумру́д (izumrúd)).

cog

(dated, printing, UK) A size of type between nonpareil and minion, standardized as 6½-point.


ruby

en-noun

ruby (countable and uncountable, plural rubies)

From Middle English ruby, rube, from Old French rubi, from Medieval Latin rubīnus.

(uncountable, printing, UK, dated) The size of type between pearl and nonpareil, standardized as 5½-point.


bed

→ Chichewa: bedi

→ Chuukese: pet

→ Esperanto: bedo

→ Japanese: ベッド (beddo)

African-American Vernacular, some speakers

From Middle English bed, bedde, from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją (“resting-place, plot of ground”).
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian baad, beed, Saterland Frisian Bääd, West Frisian bêd, Low German Bedd, Dutch bed, German Bett, Swedish bädd, Icelandic beður, all meaning “bed”.
further possible etymology and cognates
The Proto-Germanic term may in turn be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig”) with various theories explaining the development in meaning. If it is, the term is also cognate with Ancient Greek βοθυρος (bothuros, “pit”), Latin fossa (“ditch”), Latvian bedre (“hole”), Welsh bedd (“grave”), Breton bez (“grave”); and probably also Russian бодать (bodatʹ, “to butt, gore”).

bed

flat surface or layer on which something else is to be placed

A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.

(printing, dated) The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.


bite

en-noun

bite (countable and uncountable, plural bites)

Sranan Tongo: beti

From Middle English biten, from Old English bītan (“bite”), from Proto-West Germanic *bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną (“bite”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“split”).
Cognates include Saterland Frisian biete (“bite”), West Frisian bite (“bite”), Dutch bijten (“bite”), German Low German bieten (“bite”), German beißen, beissen (“bite”), Danish bide (“bite”), Swedish bita (“bite”), Norwegian Bokmål bite (“bite”), Norwegian Nynorsk bita (“bite”), Icelandic bíta (“bite”), Gothic 𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (beitan, “bite”), Latin findō (“split”), Ancient Greek φείδομαι (pheídomai), Sanskrit भिद् (bhid, “break”).

(printing) A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.


foot

foot (plural feet or (UK colloquial, unit of measure) foot)

→ Assamese: ফুট (phut)

q

from <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">feet</i>

→ Japanese: フット (futto), フート (fūto); フィート (fīto) (from feet)

→ Russian: фут (fut)

Sranan Tongo: futu

Aukan: futu

Saramaccan: fútu

→ Swahili: futi

→ Thai: ฟุต (fút)

Tok Pisin: fut, put

→ Urdu: فٹ (fuṭ)

→ Phalura: fuṭ

From Middle English fot, fote, foot, from Old English fōt, from Proto-West Germanic *fōt, from Proto-Germanic *fōts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds. Doublet of pes, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous.

doublet

not touch something with a ten-foot pole

you cannot put the same shoe on every foot

(printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.

(printing) The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.


lead

en-verb

lead (third-person singular simple present leads, present participle leading, simple past and past participle leaded)

leads (present singular third-person)
leading (participle present)
leaded (participle past)
leaded (past)

From Middle English led, leed, from Old English lēad (“lead”), from Proto-West Germanic *laud (“lead”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow”).
Cognate with Scots leid, lede (“lead”), North Frisian lud, luad (“lead”), West Frisian lead (“lead”), Dutch lood (“lead”), German Lot (“solder, plummet, sounding line”), Swedish lod (“solder, plummet”), Icelandic lóð (“a plumb, weight”), Irish luaidhe (“lead”) Latin plumbum (“lead”), Finnish luoti (“bullet”). Doublet of loth. More at flow.
* (graphite in a pencil): Graphite was once believed to be a form of lead; see black lead and plumbago.

cog

to lead a page

leaded matter

(transitive, printing, historical) To place leads between the lines of.

odsadit

printing: place leads between the lines of


bleed

en-noun

bleed (countable and uncountable, plural bleeds)

From Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan (“to bleed”), from Proto-West Germanic *blōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *blōþijaną (“to bleed”), from *blōþą (“blood”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots blede, bleid (“to bleed”), Saterland Frisian bläide (“to bleed”), West Frisian bliede (“to bleed”), Dutch bloeden (“to bleed”), Low German blöden (“to bleed”), German bluten (“to bleed”), Danish bløde (“to bleed”), Swedish blöda (“to bleed”).

(printing) A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet).


fly

From Middle English flye (“flying, flight”), from Old English flyge (“flying, flight”), from Proto-Germanic *flugiz.

дюкян

strip that hides the opening of trousers/pants or underpants

The person who took the printed sheets from the press.

A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.


lay

en-verb

lay (third-person singular simple present lays, present participle laying, simple past laid, past participle laid or (colloquial) lain)

lays (present singular third-person)
laying (participle present)
laid (past)
laid (participle past)
lain (colloquial participle past)
lay (infinitive)

Inherited from Middle English leyen, leggen, from Old English leċġan (“to lay”), from Proto-West Germanic *laggjan, from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną (“to lay”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *ligjaną (“to lie, recline”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, recline”).
Cognate with West Frisian lizze (“to lay, to lie”), Dutch leggen (“to lay”), German legen (“to lay”), Norwegian Bokmål legge (“to lay”), Norwegian Nynorsk leggja (“to lay”), Swedish lägga (“to lay”), Icelandic leggja (“to lay”), Albanian lag (“troop, band, war encampment”).

cog

the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray

the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry

(printing) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.

(printing) To place (new type) properly in the cases.


lean

en-adj

lean (comparative leaner, superlative leanest)

leaner (comparative)
leanest (superlative)

From Middle English lene (“lean”), from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps from hlǣnan (“to cause to lean (due to hunger or lack of food)”), from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to lean”).

der

lean copy, matter, or type

(printing, archaic) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.


back

front

antonym(s) of “side opposite the front or useful side”

front

antonym(s) of “that which is farthest away from the front”

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback.
Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

agter

break one's arm patting oneself on the back

could be written on the back of a postage stamp

could fit on the back of a postage stamp

you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

Convenience and custom have familiarised us to the printed page being a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and to its having a little more margin at the fore edge than in the back.

1841, William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, Ayer Publishing, published 1965, →ISBN, page 472:

That which is farthest away from the front.

The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.


cliché

(printing) A stereotype (printing plate).


bug

First attested in this form around 1620 (referring to a bedbug), from earlier bugge (“beetle”), a conflation of two words:
# Middle English bugge (“scarecrow, hobgoblin”), perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg ("ghost, hobgoblin"; compare Welsh bwgwl ("threat", older "fear")) or from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”) (compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge (“goblin”, “snot”)). Or, from a word related to buck and originally referring to a goat-shaped spectre.
# Middle English budde (“beetle”), from Old English budda (see sċearnbudda (“dung beetle”)), from Proto-Germanic *buddô, *buzdô, from the same ultimate source as above (compare Low German Budde (“louse, grub”), Norwegian budda (“newborn domestic animal”)). More at bud.
The term is used to refer to technical errors and problems at least as early as the 19th century, predating the commonly known story of a moth being caught in a computer.

cog

given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow


body

en-noun

body (countable and uncountable, plural bodies)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ-
Proto-West Germanic *bodag
Old English bodiġ
Middle English bodi
English body
From Middle English bodi, bodiȝ, from Old English bodiġ (“body, trunk, chest, torso, height, stature”), from Proto-West Germanic *bodag (“body, trunk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to be awake, observe”). Cognate with Old High German botah (whence Swabian Bottich (“body, torso”)).

der

body-focused repetitive behavior disorder

a nonpareil face on an agate body

The stemless notes could have been cast on a body as short as 4 mm but were probably cast on bodies of the standard 14 mm size for ease of composition.

1992, Mary Kay Duggan, Italian Music Incunabula: Printers and Type, page 99:

(printing) The shank of a type, or the depth of the shank (by which the size is indicated).


overlay

en-verb

overlay (third-person singular simple present overlays, present participle overlaying, simple past and past participle overlaid or overlayed)

overlays (present singular third-person)
overlaying (participle present)
overlaid (participle past)
overlaid (past)
overlayed (participle past)
overlayed (past)

/ˌəʊ.vəˈleɪ/

From Middle English overleyen, from Old English oferleċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *obarlaggjan, from Proto-Germanic *uberlagjaną, equivalent to over- + lay. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurläze, úurlääse, Dutch overleggen, German Low German overleggen, överleggen, German überlegen, Swedish överlägga, Norwegian overlegge. Compare overlie.

(transitive, printing) To put an overlay on.


overlay

/ˈəʊ.vəˌleɪ/

(printing) A piece of paper pasted upon the tympan sheet to improve the impression by making it stronger at a particular place.


overrun

overrun (third-person singular simple present overruns, present participle overrunning, simple past overran, past participle overrun)

overruns (present singular third-person)
overrunning (participle present)
overran (past)
overrun (participle past)

/ˌəʊ.vəˈɹʌn/

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈɹʌn/

(printing) To carry (some type, a line or column, etc.) backward or forward into an adjacent line or page.


prove

prove (third-person singular simple present proves, present participle proving, simple past proved, past participle proved or proven)

proves (present singular third-person)
proving (participle present)
proved (past)
proved (participle past)
proven (participle past)
prove (infinitive)

From Middle English proven, from Old English prōfian (“to esteem, regard as, evince, try, prove”) and Old French prover (“to prove”), both from Latin probō (“test, try, examine, approve, show to be good or fit, prove”, verb), from probus (“good, worthy, excellent”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-s (“being in front, prominent”), from *pro-, *per- (“toward”) + *bʰuH- (“to be”). Displaced native Middle English sothen (“to prove”), from Old English sōþian (“to prove”). Doublet of probe. More at for, be, soothe.

der

to prove a page

(printing, dated, transitive) To take a trial impression of; to take a proof of.


ride

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH-.
Cognates
From Proto-Germanic: North Frisian ride (“to ride”), Saterland Frisian riede (“to ride”), West Frisian ride (“to ride”), Low German rieden (“to ride”), Dutch rijden (“to ride”), German reiten (“to ride”), Danish ride (“to ride”), Swedish rida (“to ride”).
From Indo-European: Welsh rhwyddhau (“to hurry”).

(printing, historical) A fault caused by the overlapping of leads, etc.


rise

en-verb

rise (third-person singular simple present rises, present participle rising, simple past rose, past participle risen)

rises (present singular third-person)
rising (participle present)
rose (past)
risen (participle past)

From Middle English risen, from Old English rīsan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīsan, from Proto-Germanic *rīsaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”). See also raise.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian rize, Saterland Frisian riese (“to arise”), Dutch rijzen (“to rise, ascend, lift”), German Low German riesen (“to rise; arise”), German dialectal reisen (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk risa (“to rise”), Icelandic rísa (“to rise”). Related also to German reisen (“to travel, fare”), Dutch reizen (“to travel”), Danish rejse (“to travel”), Swedish resa (“to travel”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rris (“I raise, grow”) and Russian рост (rost, “growth”).

cog

sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow morning

(printing, dated) To be lifted, or capable of being lifted, from the imposing stone without dropping any of the type; said of a form.


set

From Middle English set, sette, from Old English set (“seat, place of residence, camp, settlement, entrenchment, stable, pen”), from Proto-West Germanic *set (“seat”), from Proto-Germanic *setą (“seat”).

inh

(printing, dated) The width of the body of a type.


bourgeois

/bəɹˈd͡ʒɔɪs/

From Middle English burjois, from French Bourgois, probably from Bourges (a city in France) + -ois (forming adjectives) but possibly from bourgeois above or after Jean de Bourgeois who worked as a printer in Rouen c. 1500.

(printing, dated) A size of type between brevier and long primer, standardized as 9-point.


stick

en-verb

stick (third-person singular simple present sticks, present participle sticking, simple past and past participle sticked)

sticks (present singular third-person)
sticking (participle present)
sticked (participle past)
sticked (past)

From Middle English stikke (“stick, rod, twig”), from Old English sticca (“rod, twig”), from Proto-West Germanic *stikkō, from Proto-Germanic *stikkô, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stikke (“stick”), West Flemish stik (“stick”). Related to stigma.

der

to stick type

(transitive, printing, slang, dated) To compose; to set, or arrange, in a composing stick.


underlay

/ˈʌndəɹˌleɪ/

From Middle English underlay, underlei, equivalent to under- + lay.

(printing, historical) A piece of paper pasted under woodcuts, stereotype plates, etc. in a form, to bring them up to the necessary level for printing.


bottle

en-verb

bottle (third-person singular simple present bottles, present participle bottling, simple past and past participle bottled)

bottles (present singular third-person)
bottling (participle present)
bottled (participle past)
bottled (past)

From Middle English botel (“bottle, flask, wineskin”), from Old French boteille, from Late Latin butticula, diminutive of buttis (“cask”). Doublet of botija.
Displaced native Old English ampella and pinne. Broadly overtook Old English flasce.

inh

Closely related to creep is the process of bottling. As you may have noticed from your folded sheet of paper, pages don't merely creep when they're folded — they also rotate slightly. This rotation or bottling is caused by the thickness or bulk of the paper.

2002, Against the Clock, QuarkXPress 5: Advanced Electronic Documents, page 58:

(printing, intransitive) Of pages printed several on a sheet: to rotate slightly when the sheet is folded two or more times.


box

en-verb

box (third-person singular simple present boxes, present participle boxing, simple past and past participle boxed)

boxes (present singular third-person)
boxing (participle present)
boxed (participle past)
boxed (past)

Etymology tree
Ancient Greek πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos)
Ancient Greek -ις (-is)
Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís)bor.
Late Latin buxisbor.
Proto-West Germanic *buhsā
Old English box
Middle English box
English box
From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box, case”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”) from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”) and Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”). Doublet of piseog, pyx, and pyxis.
Cognate with Middle Dutch bosse, busse (“jar; tin; round box”) (modern Dutch bos (“wood, forest”), bus (“container, box; bushing of a wheel”)), Old High German buhsa (Middle High German buhse, bühse, modern German Büchse (“box; can”)), Swedish bössa (“box”).
The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen.

cog

(transitive, graphic design, printing) To enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box.


ball

en-noun

ball (countable and uncountable, plural balls)

→ Cantonese: 波 (bo¹)

→ Japanese: ボール (bōru)

→ Makah: ba·la

→ Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù

From Middle English bal, ball, balle, from an unattested Old English *beall, *bealla (“round object, ball”) or Old Norse bǫllr (“a ball”), both from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol-n- (“ball, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon ball, Dutch bal, Old High German bal, ballo (German Ball (“ball”); Ballen (“bale”)). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon, bale.

ампыл

object, generally spherical, used for playing games

туп

ballistics: a solid nonexplosive missile

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

(printing, historical) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.


distribution

en-noun

distribution (countable and uncountable, plural distributions)

From Old French, from Latin distributio, from distribuere 'to distribute', itself from dis- 'apart' + tribuere 'to' (from tribus).

(printing, historical) The process of sorting the types and placing them in their proper boxes in the cases.


impose

en-verb

impose (third-person singular simple present imposes, present participle imposing, simple past and past participle imposed)

imposes (present singular third-person)
imposing (participle present)
imposed (participle past)
imposed (past)
impose (infinitive)

The verb is derived from Late Middle English imposen (“to place, set; to impose (a duty, etc.)”), borrowed from Middle French imposer, and Old French emposer, enposer (“to impose (a duty, tax, etc.)”) (modern French imposer), from im-, em- (variants of en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’)) + poser (“to place, put”), modelled after:
* Latin impōnere (“to place or set (something) on; (figurative) to impose (a duty, tax, etc.)”),, from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘on, upon’)) + pōnō (“to place, put; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó, *h₂epó (“away; off”) + *tḱey- (“to cultivate; to live; to settle”)); and
* Latin impositus (“established; put upon, imposed”), the perfect passive participle of impōnō: see above.
The noun is derived from the verb.

der

They [pages] are imposed as follows, the illustration showing how the pages appear in the form. […] 18, 24, 32, and 48mo may be imposed in a similar manner, or may be so imposed as to be cut before folding.

1877, Edward H[enry] Knight, “Imposing”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. […], volume II (GAS–REA), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton […], →OCLC, page 1172, column 1:

(archaic) To physically lay or place (something) on another thing; to deposit, to put, to set.

(printing) To lay (columns or pages of type, or printing plates) arranged in a proper order on the bed of a press or an imposing stone and secure them in a chase in preparation for printing.

kiinnittää

To lay (columns or pages of type, or printing plates) arranged in a proper order on the bed of a press, etc.


plate

→ Maori: pereti

→ Hindi: प्लेट (pleṭ)

From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato.
(foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet".

We finished making the plates this morning.

(printing) An engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper.

гравю́ра

printing: engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper

(printing, photography) An image or copy.

(printing, publishing) An illustration in a book, either black and white, or colour, usually on a page of paper of different quality from the text pages.

làmina

printing, publishing: full page illustration


solid

en-adj

solid (comparative more solid or solider, superlative most solid or solidest)

more solid (comparative)
solider (comparative)
most solid (superlative)
solidest (superlative)

From Middle English solide, borrowed from Old French solide, from Latin solidus (“solid”), from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s (“entire”), suffixed form of root *solh₂- (“integrate, whole”). Doublet of sol, sold, soldo, solidus, sou, and xu.

doublet

(printing, dated) Not having the lines separated by leads; not open.


pull

en-verb

pull (third-person singular simple present pulls, present participle pulling, simple past and past participle pulled)

pulls (present singular third-person)
pulling (participle present)
pulled (participle past)
pulled (past)

push

antonym(s) of “apply force to (something) so it comes towards one”

-ʊl (accents with foot–goose merger or full–fool merger)

Verb from Middle English pullen, from Old English pullian (“to pull, draw, tug, pluck off”), of uncertain ultimate origin. Related to West Frisian pûlje (“to shell, husk”), Middle Dutch pullen (“to drink”), Middle Dutch polen (“to peel, strip”), Low German pulen (“to pick, pluck, pull, tear, strip off husks”), Icelandic púla (“to work hard, beat”).
Noun from Middle English pul, pull, pulle, from the verb pullen (“to pull”).

cog

it's not the whistle that pulls the train

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

(printing, dated) To take or make (a proof or impression); so called because hand presses were worked by pulling a lever.


pull

en-noun

pull (countable and uncountable, plural pulls)

button

antonym(s) of “device meant to be pulled”

have the world by the tail on a downhill pull

(printing, historical) A single impression from a handpress.


stone

stone (countable and uncountable, plural stones or (UK colloquial, as unit of weight) stone)

stones (plural)
stone (UK colloquial plural)

Sranan Tongo: ston

→ Esperanto: ŝtono

From Middle English ston, stone, stan, from Old English stān, from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).
See also West Frisian stien, Saterland Frisian Steen, Dutch steen, German Stein, Danish and Swedish sten, Norwegian stein; also Russian стена́ (stená, “wall”), Ancient Greek στία (stía, “pebble”), στέαρ (stéar, “tallow”), Albanian shtëng (“hardened or pressed matter”), Sanskrit स्त्यायते (styāyate, “it hardens”)). Doublet of stein.

cog

The Chief called the makeup editor to the stone, pointed to the story which had caught his eye, and suggested a fairly simple remake.

1965, George Murray, The Madhouse on Madison Street, page 38:

(printing, historical) A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc. before printing.


display

en-verb

display (third-person singular simple present displays, present participle displaying, simple past and past participle displayed)

displays (present singular third-person)
displaying (participle present)
displayed (participle past)
displayed (past)

From Middle English displayen, from Anglo-Norman despleier and Old French despleier, desploiier, from Medieval Latin displicare (“to unfold, display”), from Latin dis- (“apart”) + plicāre (“to fold”). Doublet of deploy.

der

(printing, dated) To make conspicuous by using large or prominent type.


beard

PIE word
 *bʰardʰéh₂
From Middle English berd, bard, bærd, from Old English beard, from Proto-West Germanic *bard, from Proto-Germanic *bardaz (compare West Frisian burd, Dutch baard, German Bart). Cognate further to Latin barba, Lithuanian barzda, Russian борода́ (borodá): the word may date to Proto-Indo-European as *bʰardʰeh₂, *bʰh₂erdʰeh₂. Doublet of barb.

(printing, dated) That part of a type which is between the shoulder of the shank and the face.


American

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *amalaz
Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs
Proto-Celtic *rīxsbor.
Proto-Germanic *rīks
Proto-Germanic *Amalarīksder.
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-
Proto-Indo-European *-mos
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos
Proto-Indo-European *tḱóymos
Proto-Germanic *haimaz
Proto-Germanic *rīks
Proto-Germanic *Haimarīksder.?
Italian Amerigoder.
New Latin Americalbor.
English America
Middle English -n
English -n
English American
From America + -n. compare Latin americānus.

etymon

(uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type.


gem

en-noun

gem (countable and uncountable, plural gems)

Inherited from Middle English gemme, gimme, yimme, ȝimme, from Old English ġimm, from Proto-West Germanic *gimmu (“gem”) and Old French gemme (“gem”), both from Latin gemma (“a swelling bud; jewel, gem”). Doublet of gemma and Gemma.

der

(uncountable, printing, uncommon, obsolete) A size of type between brilliant (4-point) and diamond (4½-point), running 222 lines to the foot.


leader

→ Catalan: líder

→ Czech: lídr

→ Galician: líder

→ Japanese: リーダー (rīdā)

→ Korean: 리더 (rideo)

→ Polish: lider

→ Portuguese: líder

→ Romanian: lider

→ Russian: ли́дер (líder)

→ Spanish: líder

→ Turkish: lider

→ Ukrainian: лі́дер (líder)

From Middle English leder, ledere, from Old English lǣdere (“leader”), from Proto-West Germanic *laidijārī (“leader”), equivalent to lead + -er. Cognate with Scots ledar, leidar (“leader”), West Frisian lieder (“leader”), Dutch leider (“leader”), German Leiter (“leader, conductor, manager”), Danish leder (“leader, manager”), Swedish ledare (“leader, conductor, director”), Icelandic leiðari (“leader, conductor”).

cog

If you need to reload film, the cassette can be rewound slightly by turning the hub located on one end of its spool. Do not rewind so much that the leader disappears into the cassette.

2011, Rebekah Modrak, Bill Anthes, Reframing Photography: Theory and Practice:

Someone or something that leads or conducts.

(film, printing) A piece of material at the beginning or end of a reel or roll to allow the material to be threaded or fed onto something, as a reel of film onto a projector or a roll of paper onto a rotary printing press.

(printing) A type having a dot or short row of dots upon its face.

(printing, in the plural) A row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or number.


device

From Middle English devis, devise, devyce, devys, devyse, from Old French devis and devise, from Latin dīvīsus, past participle of dīvidō (“to divide”). Doublet of devise (noun).

Prior to the issuance of the first stamps, letters accepted by postmasters for dispatch were marked "Paid" by means of pen and ink or hand stamps of various designs. … To facilitate the handling of mail matter, some postmasters provided special stamps or devices for use on letters as evidence of the prepayment of postage.

1943 United States Post Office Department. A Description of United States Postage Stamps / Issued by the Post Office Department from July 1, 1847, to April 1, 1945 [sic], USGPO, Washington, p1

(printing) An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.

tunnus

printing: image denoting authority or provenience


put up

en-verb

put up (third-person singular simple present puts up, present participle putting up, simple past and past participle put up)

puts up (present singular third-person)
putting up (participle present)
put up (participle past)
put up (past)

(transitive, printing, historical) To set (matter) in capital letters; to switch text from lowercase to capital letters.


put down

put down (third-person singular simple present puts down, present participle putting down, simple past and past participle put down)

puts down (present singular third-person)
putting down (participle present)
put down (participle past)
put down (past)

(obsolete, printing) To set type in lowercase; to switch type from capital to lowercase letters.


put in

put in (third-person singular simple present puts in, present participle putting in, simple past and past participle put in)

puts in (present singular third-person)
putting in (participle present)
put in (participle past)
put in (past)

(obsolete, printing) To distribute type that is ready for composing.


kick

kick (third-person singular simple present kicks, present participle kicking, simple past and past participle kicked)

kicks (present singular third-person)
kicking (participle present)
kicked (participle past)
kicked (past)
kick (infinitive)

→ German: kicken

→ Welsh: cicio

From Middle English kyken (“to strike out with the foot”), from Old Norse kikna (“to sink at the knees”) and keikja (“to bend backwards”) (compare Old Norse keikr (“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz (“bent backwards”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kī-, *kij- (“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyH- (“to sprout, shoot”). Compare also Dutch kijken (“to look”), Middle Low German kīken (“to look, watch”). See keek.

штовхну́ти

ного́ю; нога́ми

(printing, historical) To work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.


nick

The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock (“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established.
The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.

unknown

further etymology is unknown

cog

A nick is a hollow cast crossways in the shanks of types, to make a distinction readily between differnt sorts and sizes; and to enable the compositor to perceive quickly the bottom of the letter as it lies in the case, when composing; as nicks are always cast on that side of the shank on which the bottom of the face of the letter is placed. A great deal of inconvenience frequently arises, owing to the founders casting different founts of types with a similar nick in each.

1841, William Savage, “NICK”, in A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 543:

The types are of the usual thickness and height. In the centre of each type, in the front, is a deep nick of a dovetail shape, which fits upon a metal edge, so that the type cannot be displaced. But of 111 letters which are required in the fount, each letter has two, three, or four other nicks cut at right angles, the nicks of no one letter being the same as another.

1862, International Exhibition, 1862. Jurors’ Reports, London: Bell and Daldy, […], →OCLC, class XXVIII, section C (Plate, Letterpress, and Other Modes of Printing), page 3:

(printing, dated) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.


bleeding edge

Blend of bleed + leading edge, and metaphorically alluding to the cutting edge (“forefront or position of greatest advancement in some field”) as a double-edged sword.

(cartography, printing) The situation produced when the image extends beyond the nominal margin.


jet

Borrowed from French jet (“spurt”, literally “a throw”), from Old French get, giet, from Vulgar Latin *iectus, jectus, from Latin iactus (“a throwing, a throw”), from iacere (“to throw”). See abject, ejaculate, gist, jess, jut. Cognate with Spanish echar.

bor

Edward H[enry] Knight
w:Edward H. Knight

(printing, dated) The sprue of a type, which is broken from it when the type is cold.


minion

en-noun

minion (countable and uncountable, plural minions)

1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

der

(uncountable, typography, printing) The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.


matrix

From Middle English matris, matrice, matrix, from Old French matrice (“pregnant animal”), or from Latin mātrīx (“dam, womb”), both ultimately from māter (“mother”). Doublet of mother from Indo-European ancestor.
Slang usage coined with the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix.

基質 /基质

analytical chemistry: sampling environment

(printing, historical) In hot metal typesetting, a mold for casting a letter.

Matrize

mold for casting a letter (hot metal typesetting)

(printing, historical) In printmaking, the plate or block used, with ink, to hold the image that makes up the print.

матри́ца

plate or block holding an image (printing)


typeface

(printing) The surface of type which inked, or the impression it makes.


turn

en-verb

turn (third-person singular simple present turns, present participle turning, simple past and past participle turned or (obsolete) turnt)

turns (present singular third-person)
turning (participle present)
turned (participle past)
turned (past)
turnt (obsolete participle past)
turnt (obsolete past)
turn (infinitive)

From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend), among several other terms.

lyödä kierre

in cricket, make the ball move sideways when it bounces

kiertää

of a cricket ball, move sideways when it bounces

-ul

e.g. “turn yellow”: sárga → sárgul, “turn brown”: barna → barnul

(printing, dated) To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

muuttua

printing: invert a type of the same thickness


turn

→ Japanese: ターン (tān)

Partly from Anglo-Norman *torn, from Latin turnus, from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos), and partly an action noun from the verb turn.

պտույտ

movement about an axis ending up with the same orientation

360° turn

movement about an axis returning to the original orientation

the first turn of the screw pays all debts

(printing, dated) A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.


turnover

en-noun

turnover (countable and uncountable, plural turnovers)

(printing, publishing) Synonym of runover.


knockout

→ Belarusian: нака́ўт (nakáŭt)

→ Portuguese: nocaute, knockout

→ Russian: нока́ут (nokáut)

→ Spanish: nocaut

→ Ukrainian: нока́ут (nokáut)

→ Vietnamese: nốc ao

(printing) An event where a foreground color causes a background color not to print.


factotum

factotum (plural factotums or (nonstandard) factota)

factotums (plural)
factota (nonstandard plural)

From New Latin factotum (literally “do everything”), from Latin fac, present singular imperative of faciō (“do, make”) + tōtum (“everything”); attested in English from 1566.

bor

(printing, historical) A large decorative printing block with a central space into which any letter can be inserted, used to mark the beginning of a chapter of a book in early printing.


type

→ Japanese: タイプ

→ Korean: 타입 (taip)

From Middle English type (“symbol, figure, emblem”), from Latin typus, from Ancient Greek τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), from τύπτω (túptō, “I strike, beat”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-. Related to stupid, stupefy and stop.

tyyppiyksilö

biology: individual representative of its taxonomic group

(printing, countable) A letter or character used for printing, historically a cast or engraved block.

(uncountable) Such types collectively, or a set of type of one font or size.

The headline was set in bold type.

(chiefly uncountable) Text printed with such type, or imitating its characteristics.


steel

en-noun

steel (countable and uncountable, plural steels)

From Middle English stele, stel, from Old English stīele, from Proto-West Germanic *stahlī (“something made of steel”), enlargement of *stahl (“steel”), from Proto-Germanic *stahlą, from *stah- or *stag- (“to be firm, rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *stak- (“to stay, to be firm”). Compare Scots stele, Yola stehli.

der

1843, J. Ballantine, The gaberlunzie's wallet. With numerous illustrations on steel and wood.:

A re-issue of the Examples of the Architecture of Venice. By John Ruskin... With the Text, and the 16 Plates (10 Steels and 6 Lithographs) as originally published.

(countable) Any item made of this metal, particularly including:


steel

The best picture I have had yet is the steel frontis-piece to my new book.


random

en-noun

random (countable and uncountable, plural randoms)

From earlier randon, from Middle English randoun, raundon, from Old French randon, from randir (“to run, gallop”) (whence French randonnée (“long walk, hike”)), from Frankish *randiju (“a run, race”) or Old Norse rend (“a run, race”), both from Proto-Germanic *randijō, from *rinnaną (“run”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)r̥-nw- (“to flow, move, run”). Cognate with Middle Low German uprinden (“to jump up”), Danish rende (“to run”). See run.

cog

Utilization of all floor space underneath case racks and randoms is another feature of the modern composing room; […]

1935, Newspaper World, numbers 1930-1955, page 41:

Printers' frames and randoms

2002, Republic of Korea, number 2, page 502:

(printing, historical) A frame for composing type.


form

en-noun

form (countable and uncountable, plural forms)

→ Korean: 폼 (pom)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: form

From Middle English forme (“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”), borrowed from Old French forme, from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”).
In sense "division grouping school students" (now dated), derived from public school nomenclature later adopted by state schools. It is sometimes said to be from the sense of "bench", where students of certain ages would sit together, though this is disputed, or alternatively from the sense of "established method of expression or practice".

der

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

And the form is inked, the paper is applied, the bed is slid, and the platen is levered down and the proof is printed.

2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), page 382:

(printing, dated) The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.


fo

(paper, printing) Abbreviation of folio., page and book size (10"-12.5" x 15"-20").


slip

From Middle English slippen, probably from Middle Low German slippen, from Old Saxon *slippian, from Proto-West Germanic *slippjan, from Proto-Germanic *slipjaną (“to glide”), an iterative form of *slīpaną (“to slip, slide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyb- (“slimy; to slide”). Possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ- (“slip, slide”), or related to Proto-Germanic *slībaną (“to split”); related to Old English slipor (“slippery”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian slipje (“to slip”), Dutch slippen (“to slip”), German Low German slippen, slupen (“to slip”), German schlüpfen (“to slip”).

there's many a slip between the cup and the lip

there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip

(printing, dated) A portion of the columns of a newspaper etc. struck off by itself; a proof from a column of type when set up and in the galley.


manifold

en-verb

manifold (third-person singular simple present manifolds, present participle manifolding, simple past and past participle manifolded)

manifolds (present singular third-person)
manifolding (participle present)
manifolded (participle past)
manifolded (past)

From Middle English manifolden, from Old English maniġfealdan (“to multiply, abound, increase, extend, reward”), equivalent to many + -fold. Cognate with Middle High German manecvalten, Icelandic margfalda (“to multiply”), Swedish mångfaldiga (“to manifold, reproduce”).

cog

(transitive, printing) To multiply or reproduce impressions of by a single operation.


compose

en-verb

compose (third-person singular simple present composes, present participle composing, simple past and past participle composed)

composes (present singular third-person)
composing (participle present)
composed (participle past)
composed (past)

From Middle English composen, from Old French composer (“to compose, compound, adjust, settle”), from com- + poser, as an adaptation of Latin componere (“to put together, compose”), from com- (“together”) + ponere (“to put, place”).

der

(printing, dated) To arrange (types) in a composing stick for printing; to typeset.


batter

en-noun

batter (countable and uncountable, plural batters)

From Middle English bature, from Old French bateure (“the action of beating”), from batre (“to beat”). Doublet of batture.

der

In repairing batters at the edges of the plate, when the bevel has been torn away by the catches, &c., it is necessary to solder a piece of metal along the side.

1881, The Printing Times and Lithographer, page 251:

(countable, printing) A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.


diamond

en-noun

diamond (countable and uncountable, plural diamonds)

From Middle English dyamaunt, from Old French diamant, from Late Latin diamās, from Latin adamās, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “diamond”). Doublet of adamant. The printing sense is a calque of Dutch diamant, used by Dirck Voskens who first cut it around 1700; compare pearl, ruby (“size of type between pearl and nonpareil”).

der

(printing, dated) The size of type between brilliant and pearl, standardized as 4+¹⁄₂-point.


cannon

en-noun

cannon (countable and uncountable, plural cannons or (mainly UK) cannon)

cannons (plural)
cannon (UK mainly plural)

Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.

(printing, uncountable) Alternative form of canon (“a large size of type”)


canon

canon (countable and uncountable, plural canons)

From Middle English canoun, from Old French canon and Old English canon, both from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, standard”), akin to κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Semitic (compare Hebrew קָנֶה (qane, “reed”) and Arabic قَنَاة (qanāh, “reed”)). Doublet of qanun. See also cane, cannon, canyon, canal.

der

(printing, dated, uncountable) A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.


token

From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną, from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h by Kluge's law. The verb is from Middle English toknen, from Old English tācnian. Cognate with German Zeichen, Dutch teken and Danish tegn.

that and a token will get you on the subway

(printing) Ten and a half quires, or, commonly, 250 sheets, of paper printed on both sides; also, in some cases, the same number of sheets printed on one side, or half the number printed on both sides.


tape

en-noun

tape (countable and uncountable, plural tapes)

→ Danish: tape

→ Dutch: tape

→ Hausa: têf

→ Hindi: टेप (ṭep)

→ Irish: téip

→ Japanese: テープ (tēpu)

→ Korean: 테이프 (teipeu)

→ Norwegian:

Bokmål: tape, teip

Nynorsk: tape, teip

→ Swahili: tepe, tepu

→ Swedish: tape, tejp

→ Thai: เทป (téep)

→ Tibetan: ཊེབ (ṭeb)

→ Turkish: teyp

→ Urdu:

→ Phalura: ṭeép

→ Welsh: tâp

From Middle English tape, tappe, from Old English tæppa, tæppe (“ribbon, tape”); further origin unclear. Probably akin to Old Frisian tapia (“to pull, rip, tear”), Middle Low German tappen, tāpen (“to grab, pull, rip, tear, snatch”), Middle High German zāfen, zāven (“to pull, tear”).

cog

(printing, historical) A strong flexible band rotating on pulleys for directing the sheets in a printing machine.


squeegee

Probably from squeege, an intensified form of squeeze. Compare earlier squill-gee, squillgee.

скребо́к

с рези́новой наса́дкой

silk-screen printing
silk-screen printing

A roller used to similar effect, particularly

(printing) A tool used to force the ink through the stencil in silk-screen printing.


out

→ Greek: άουτ (áout)

→ Japanese: アウト (auto)

→ Korean: 아웃 (aut)

→ Spanish: out

From Middle English out, oute, from a combination of Old English ūt (“out”, preposition & adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”); and Old English ūte (“outside; without”, adverb), from Proto-Germanic *ūtai (“out; outside”); both from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”).
Cognate with Scots oot, out (“out”), Saterland Frisian uut, uute (“out”), West Frisian út (“out”), Dutch uit (“out”), German Low German ut (“out”), German aus (“out”), Norwegian/Swedish ut, ute (“out; outside”), Danish ud, ude (“out; outside”).

inh

(printing, dated) A word or words omitted by the compositor in setting up copy; an omission.


agate

en-noun

agate (countable and uncountable, plural agates)

From Middle French agathe, from Latin achatēs, from Ancient Greek ἀχάτης (akhátēs, “agate”).

(uncountable, US printing, dated) The size of type between pearl and nonpareil, standardized as 5+¹⁄₂-point.


register

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stɚ/

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ə.stɚ/

From Medieval Latin registrum, from Late Latin regesta (“list, items recorded”), from Latin regerō (“to record, to carry back”), from re- + gerō (“to carry, bear”). Compare Latin registoria (“a treasurer”). Some senses influenced by association with unrelated Latin regō (“to rule”).

der

(printing) The exact alignment of lines, margins, and colors.

soutisk

printing: exact alignment of lines, margins and colors

(printing) The inner part of the mould in which types are cast.


register

en-verb

register (third-person singular simple present registers, present participle registering, simple past and past participle registered)

registers (present singular third-person)
registering (participle present)
registered (participle past)
registered (past)

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stɚ/

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ə.stɚ/

(transitive, especially printing) To make or adjust so as to be properly or precisely aligned.

pasovat

printing: to adjust so as to be properly aligned


monk

From Middle English monk, from Old English munuc, from Proto-West Germanic *munik, from Late Latin monicus, variant of monachus, from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós, “single, solitary”), from μόνος (mónos, “alone”).


guide

→ Korean: 가이드 (gaideu)

→ Japanese: ガイド (gaido)

→ Norwegian: guide

→ Swedish: guide

c. 1325–75. From Middle English guide, from the Old French guide, from Old Occitan guida, from guidar, from Frankish *wītan (“to show the way, lead”), from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to see, know; go, depart”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see, know”). Cognate with Old English wītan (“to see, take heed to, watch after, guard, keep”). Related also to English wit.

cog

A device that guides part of a machine, or guides motion or action.

(printing, dated) A strip or device to direct the compositor's eye to the line of copy being set.


brilliant

en-noun

brilliant (countable and uncountable, plural brilliants)

(small type size): (German) Brillant

→ Malay: berlian
Indonesian: berlian

Borrowed from French brillant (late 17th century), present participle of the verb briller, from Italian brillare, possibly from Latin berillus, beryllus (“a beryl, gem, eyeglass”), from Ancient Greek βήρυλλος (bḗrullos, “beryl”).

der

(uncountable, printing, dated) The size of type between excelsior and diamond, standardized as 4-point.


bastard

en-adj

bastard (comparative more bastard, superlative most bastard)

more bastard (comparative)
most bastard (superlative)

From Middle English bastard, bastarde, from Anglo-Norman bastard, Old French bastart (“illegitimate child”), perhaps via Medieval Latin bastardus, of obscure origin.
Possibly from Frankish *bāst (“marriage, relationship”) + Old French -ard, -art (pejorative suffix denoting a specific quality or condition). Frankish *bāst derives from a North Sea Germanic variety of Proto-Germanic *banstuz (“bond, connection, relationship, marriage with a second woman of lower status”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”) and is related to West Frisian boaste (“marriage, matrimony”), Middle Dutch bast (“lust, heat”), and more distantly to English boose (“cow-stall”). The term probably originally referred to a child from a polygynous marriage of heathen Germanic custom — a practice not sanctioned by the Christian churches.
Alternatively, Old French bastart may have originated from the Old French term fils de bast (“packsaddle son”), meaning a child conceived on an improvised bed (medieval saddles often doubled as beds while travelling). However chronology makes this difficult, as bastard is attested in Old French from 1089 (Middle Latin bastardus as early as 1010), yet Old French bast (modern French bât), though attested since 1130 with the meaning of "beast of burden", doesn't acquire the specific meaning of "packsaddle" until the 13c., making it too late to have given rise to the terms bastard and bastardus with this sense. The French Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales supports the Germanic theory further above as being most likely.

unk

obscure

ondermaats

of abnormal, irregular or otherwise inferior qualities (size, shape etc.)

(printing) Abbreviated, as the half title in a page preceding the full title page of a book.


imperial

en-noun

imperial (countable and uncountable, plural imperials)

From Middle English imperial, from Old French imperial, from Latin imperiālis (“of the empire or emperor, imperial”), from imperium (“empire, imperial government”) + -ālis, from imperō (“command, order”), from im- (“form of in”) + parō (“prepare, arrange; intend”). Displaced Old English cāserlīċ.

der

(paper, printing) A writing paper size measuring 30 × 22 inches, or printing paper measuring 32 × 22 inches.


printer

→ Azerbaijani: printer

→ Georgian: პრინტერი (ṗrinṭeri)

→ Japanese: プリンター (purintā)

→ Korean: 프린터 (peurinteo)

→ Russian: при́нтер (prínter)

→ Serbo-Croatian: prìnter, прѝнтер

IMPRINTED at London in Fleteſtrete by Thomas Berthelet, printer to the kynges highnes, the ſeconde of July, the yere of our lorde. M. DXLV. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum ſolum.

1545 July 2, Thomas Elyot, A Preservative agaynste Deth, Imprinted at London in Fletestrete: By Thomas Berthelet, printer to the kynges highnes, →OCLC, colophon:

The Court doth Declare, as formerly ſo now, That no Apprentices be taken into any Printing-houſe, otherwiſe than according to this Proportion following, (viz.) ever Maſter Printer that is, or hath been Maſter or Upper Warden of his Company, may have three Apprentices at one time and no more, and every Maſter-Printer that is of the Livery of his Company, may have two Apprentices at one time and no more, […]

1637 July 11, John Rushworth, “[Appendix.] A Decree of Star-Chamber Concerning Printing, Made the Eleventh Day of July Last Past, 1637”, in Historical Collections. The Second Volume of the Second Part, Containing the Principal Matters which Happened from March 26. 1639, until the Summoning of a Parliament, which Met at Westminster, April 13, 1640. With an Account of the Proceedings of that Parliament; and the Transactions and Affairs from that Time, until the Meeting of Another Parliament, November the 3d following. With Some Remarkable Passages therein during the First Six Months. Impartially Related, and Disposed within Annals. Setting forth only Matter of Fact in Order of Time, without Observation or Reflection, London: Printed by M. Wotton at the Three Pigeons against the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet, and G. Conyers at the Golden Ring on Ludgate-Hill, published 1686, →OCLC, item XIX, pages 311–312:

[…] Pecuniary motives induced the first printers (from the large sums which were usually paid for manuscripts) to sell their works as such; so that printing was, for a period, as much the counterfeit as the substitute for writing, it being a facsimile of the most approved Scribes.

1824, J[ohn] Johnson, “The Origin, Rise, and Progress of the Typographic Art”, in Typographia, or The Printers’ Instructor: Including an Account of the Origin of Printing, with Biographical Notices of the Printers of England, from Caxton to the Close of the Sixteenth Century: A Series of Ancient and Modern Alphabets, and Domesday Characters: Together with an Elucidation of Every Subject Connected with the Art, volume I, London: Published by Messrs. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, Paternoster Row, London, →OCLC, pages 4–5:

Never one to waste an opportunity, he says now: "The low points? You can read about them in my forthcoming book! It's at the printers now.

2021 November 3, Adrian Shooter talks to Paul Clifton, “A lifetime of railway achievements”, in RAIL, number 943, page 34:

(printing) The operator of a printing press or the owner of a printing business; (metonymically) any printing business.


crotchet

/ˈkɹɑt͡ʃ.ɪt/

From Middle English crochet, from Old French crochet (“small hook”), from croc + -et (diminutive suffix), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”). The musical note was named so because of a small hook on its stem in black notation (in modern notation this hook is on the quaver/eighth note). Doublet of crochet, crocket, and croquet.


quarto

en-noun

quarto (countable and uncountable, plural quartos)

Beneath an old ebony table were two long carved oak chests. I lifted the lid of one, and at the top was a once-white surplice covered with dust, and beneath was a mass of tracts — Commonwealth Quartos, unbound — a prey to worms and decay.

1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 40:

(printing) A book size, corresponding to the paper size.


web

From Middle English webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-Germanic *wabją, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“weave”).

what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

(lithography) A long sheet of paper which is fed from a roll into a printing press, as opposed to individual sheets of paper.


friar

PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
From Middle English frere, from Old French frere, from Latin frāter (“brother”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, pal, and vai.

doublet

(printing, dated) A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.


royal

From Middle English royal, from Old French roial (Modern French royal), from Latin rēgālis, from rēx (“king”). Doublet of regal (“befitting a king”), real (“unit of currency”), ariary, and riyal. Cognate with Spanish real. Displaced native Old English cynelīċ.

(paper, printing) A standard size of printing paper, measuring 25 by 20 inches.


rule

en-noun

rule (countable and uncountable, plural rules)

From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.

doublet

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class V § 613. Habit

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 82. Conformity

(printing, dated) A thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.


breve

From Middle English breve, variant of bref, from Old French brieve, breve (feminine form of brief, bref), from Latin brevis (“short”).

(orthography, printing) A semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel, commonly used to mark its quantity as short.


pick

From Middle English piken, picken, pikken, from Old English *piccian, *pīcian (attested in pīcung (“a pricking”)), and pīcan, pȳcan (“to pick, prick, pluck”), both from Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew-, *bu- (“to make a dull, hollow sound”). Doublet of pitch and peck.
Cognate with Dutch pikken (“to pick”), German picken (“to pick, peck”), Old Norse pikka, pjakka (whence Icelandic pikka (“to pick, prick”), Swedish picka (“to pick, peck”)).

inh

If it be in the smallest degree gritty, it clogs the form, and consequently produces a thick and imperfect impression; no pains should, therefore, be spared to render it perfectly smooth; it may then be made to work as clear and free from picks

c. 1866, Thomas MacKellar, The American Printer:

(printing, dated) A particle of ink or paper embedded in the hollow of a letter, filling up its face, and causing a spot on a printed sheet.


letteral

From letter + -al. The Lojban sense was coined by James Cooke Brown by analogy with numeral.

In order to avoid the character of being slovenly, always read the lines as composed. This should be done as soon as they are finished and before spacing out; in time the habit will become so fixed, that in spacing out, or even in composing the line, the eye will wander over the words, and detect any letterals.

1898, Charles Thomas Jacobi, Printing: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Typography as Applied More Particularly to the Printing of Books, pages 57–58:

LITERALS type characters: to read proof for literals is to read letter for letter, watching for proper spelling, punctuation, etc., as well as for typos: formerly spelled letterals.

[1971, Ruth Kimball Kent, The Language of Journalism: A Glossary of Print-communications Terms, page 82:

(printing) Obsolete form of literal (“a misprint that affects a letter”).


block

→ Dutch: block

→ German: Block

→ Irish: bloc

→ Manx: block

→ Maori: poraka

→ Norwegian: blokk

→ Polish: blok

desctree

→ Russian: блок (blok)
→ Armenian: բլոկ (blok)
→ Yakut: блок (blok)

→ Spanish: block

→ Vietnamese: lốc

From Middle English blok (“log, stump, solid piece”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Dutch *blok (“log”), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old Frisian blok, Old Saxon blok, Old High German bloh, bloc (“block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (“divider, partition”). More at balk. See also bloc, bulk.

طَابُوقَة

substantial often approximately cuboid piece

թաղամաս

group of buildings demarcated by streets

A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance.

(printing, dated) A piece of hard wood on which a stereotype or electrotype plate is mounted.

pölkky

printing: piece of hardwood on which a plate is mounted


furniture

en-noun

furniture (usually uncountable, plural furnitures)

From Middle French fourniture (“a supply, or the act of furnishing”), from fournir (“to furnish”).

uder

(printing, historical) The pieces of wood or metal put around pages of type to make proper margins and fill the spaces between the pages and the chase.


patch

From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”).
Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”).

tilkku

small piece of material used to clean a gun barrel

flejtuch

piece of greased cloth used to fit a rifle ball to the bore

(printing, historical) An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression.


skeleton

From New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).

der

(printing) A very thin form of light-faced type.


chase

Perhaps from French châsse (“case”, “reliquary”), from Old French chasse, from Latin capsa. Doublet of case, cash, and chasse.

The die-maker should work upon the surface of an imposing table. First, he places on the table the chase in which the die is to be locked up. Second, he fills in the chase with regular printer’s wood furniture, leaving space in the center for the die, and placing locking quoins near the top of the chase and on the right-hand side of the chase. Third, the cutting and creasing rules are set in the open space in the center of the chase, filling in with metal or wood furniture.

1920, Robert F. Salade, chapter IX, in How Paper Boxes are Made:

(printing) A rectangular steel or iron frame into which pages or columns of type are locked for printing or plate-making.


proof

en-noun

proof (countable and uncountable, plural proofs)

→ Russian: пруф (pruf), пру́фы (prúfy)

desc

⇒ Russian: пруфли́нк (pruflínk, literally “proof + link”)

From Middle English proof, from Old French prove, from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from Latin probō (“to prove”); see prove; compare also the doublet probe.

the proof of the pudding is in the eating

And these men scour the printed proof for error, blunder, and misspelling.

(countable, printing) A proof sheet; a trial impression, as from type, taken for correction or examination.


style

en-noun

style (countable and uncountable, plural styles)

→ Finnish: staili

→ Scottish Gaelic: stoidhle

→ Iban: stail

→ Japanese: スタイル (sutairu)

→ Korean: 스타일 (seutail)

→ Malay: stail

→ Portuguese: style

→ Swahili: staili

The noun is derived from Middle English stile, stel, stele, stiel, stiele, stil, still, stille, styele, style, styill, styll, styyl (“writing tool, stylus; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression, particularly one regarded as high quality; demeanour, manner, way of life; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”), from Old French style, estile, stil, stile (modern French style), or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument, pale, spike, stake; writing tool, stylus; act of setting down in writing, composition; characteristic mode of expression, style; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus.
The English word is cognate with Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”), German Stiel (“handle; stalk”), Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”), Occitan estil, Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”), Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

styl

manner of expression in writing or speech

styl

the house style of the journal

If you have to settle for an expert typist who has not completed recent dissertations for your school, buy two copies of the style manual, one for you and one for the typist.

1993, Evelyn Hunt Ogden, “Spending Money and Using the 20th Century to Your Advantage”, in Completing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis in Two Semesters or Less, 2nd edition, Lanham, Md., Toronto, Ont.: ScarecrowEducation, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, published 2003, →ISBN, page 60:

There are many excellent style manuals, and every good writer should have one or more of these at hand, along with the appropriate formatting instructions for the particular standard beng followed. This book is a how-to survival manual for students, researchers, and family members who need to learn and use APA [American Psychological Association] style and who would like to use some of the tools provided by Microsoft Word.

2012, Larry A. Pace, “Preface and Acknowledgments”, in Using Microsoft Word to Write Research Papers in APA Style, Anderson, S.C.: TwoPaces.com, →ISBN, page 5:

A particular manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art.

(printing, publishing) A set of rules regarding the presentation of text (spelling, typography, the citation of references, etc.) and illustrations that is applied by a publisher to the works it produces.

styl

set of rules applied by a publisher to the works it produces


mist

en-verb

mist (third-person singular simple present mists, present participle misting, simple past and past participle misted)

mists (present singular third-person)
misting (participle present)
misted (participle past)
misted (past)

The noun is from Middle English mist, from Old English mist (“mist; darkness; dimness (of eyesight)”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstaz (“mist, fog”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃migʰstos, from the root *h₃meygʰ- (“cloud, fog, drizzle”). Cognate with Scots mist (“mist, fog”), West Frisian mist (“mist”), Dutch mist (“mist”), Swedish mist (“mist, fog”), Icelandic mistur (“mist”), West Frisian miegelje (“to drizzle”), Dutch dialectal miggelen, miegelen (“to drizzle”), Lithuanian miglà (“fog”), Sanskrit मेघ (megha, “cloud”), Russian мгла (mgla, “fog, haze”).
The verb is from Middle English misten, from Old English mistian.

inh

(printing, of ink) To disperse into a mist, accompanying operation of equipment at high speeds.


stereo

en-noun

stereo (countable and uncountable, plural stereos)

Shortened form of stereotype, stereoscope or stereophonic, all originally derived from Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”).


inferior

Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower in situation or place”), comparative of īnferus (“below, underneath”).

bor

(printing) An inferior letter, figure, or symbol.


superior

/sʉːˈpɪə.ɹiː.ə/

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

(printing) A superior letter, figure, or symbol.


brayer

(printing) A hand printing tool, in the US often a roller, used to spread a thin even layer of ink. Early brayers, consisting of a vertical cylinder with a single handle, were designed to break up thick inks before spreading.


pica

en-noun

pica (countable and uncountable, plural picas)

From Medieval Latin pica (“pica: a service book”), possibly from Latin pīca (“magpie”) after the piebald appearance of the typeset page (cf. pie (“disordered type”)). The relation to the printer's measure is unclear, as no edition of the text in pica type is known. The French pica derives from English rather than vice versa.

der

I had been at Baldwin's before dinner in consequence of a letter from him which showed me that, by using a pica instead of an English letter in printing my book, I might comprise it within such a number of sheets as a guinea-volume should contain […].

1790, James Boswell, edited by Danziger & Brady, Boswell: The Great Biographer, Yale, published 1989, page 30:

(typography, printing, uncountable) A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point.


platen

From French platine, from plat (“flat”). See plate, and compare platin.

And the form is inked, the paper is applied, the bed is slid, and the platen is levered down and the proof is printed.

(printing) The part of a printing press which presses the paper against the type and by which the impression is made.


ret

(printing, historical) Short for reiteration.


philosophy

en-noun

philosophy (countable and uncountable, plural philosophies)

From Middle English philosophie, Old French philosophie, and their source, Latin philosophia, from Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophía), from φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + σοφία (sophía, “wisdom”). By surface analysis, philo- + -sophy. Displaced native Old English ūþwitegung.

Although I prefer small pica. Or as its^([sic]) sometimes known, philosophy.
– Small pica, or philosophy, she said. It sounds like the title of a novel. With a girl heroine.

2010, Thomas Wharton, Salamander, Emblem Editions, →ISBN:

(printing, dated) Synonym of small pica (especially in French printing).


galley

galley (plural galleys or (obsolete) gallies)

galleys (plural)
gallies (obsolete plural)

From Middle English galeie, from Old French galee, from Latin galea, from Byzantine Greek γάλεα (gálea) of unknown origin, probably from Ancient Greek γαλέη (galéē), a kind of a small fish, from γαλεός (galeós, “dog-fish or small shark”). Doublet of galea.

It was very nerve-racking. When I was finally able to write the story, I wrote it at the typewriter and never reread it until I had to edit the typos on the printer's galleys for the publication of the book.

1976 April 26, Jil Clark, Julia Penelope, Susan Wolfe, “The Politics of Language”, in Gay Community News, page 8:

(printing) An oblong tray of wood or brass, with upright sides, for holding type which has been set, or is to be made up, etc.

(printing) A proof sheet taken from type while on a galley; a galley proof.

게라쇄

printing: proof sheet from type on a galley


core

core (countable and uncountable, plural cores)

desc

Translingual: core eudicots, core Malvales

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse.

unc

obscure and uncertain

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

сърцеви́на

something that produces a hollow space in a casting

particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function:

(printing) A hollow cylindrical piece of cardboard around which a web of paper or plastic is wound.


keep up

en-verb

keep up (third-person singular simple present keeps up, present participle keeping up, simple past and past participle kept up)

keeps up (present singular third-person)
keeping up (participle present)
kept up (participle past)
kept up (past)

From Middle English kepen up (“to perpetuate, maintain, preserve”), equivalent to keep + up.

inh

(obsolete, printing) To use capital letters as much as reasonable.


landscape

en-noun

landscape (countable and uncountable, plural landscapes)

From an alteration (due to Dutch landschap) of earlier landskip, lantschip, from Middle English *landschippe, *landschapp, from Old English landsċipe, landsċeap (“region, district, tract of land”), equivalent to land + -ship; in some senses from Dutch landschap (“region, district, province, landscape”), from Middle Dutch landscap, lantscap (“region”), from Old Dutch *landskepi, *landskapi (“region”). Cognate with Scots landskape, landskep, landskip (“landscape”), West Frisian lânskip (“landscape”), Low German landschop (“landscape, district”), German Landschaft (“landscape, countryside, scenery”), Danish landskab (“landscape, countryside”), Swedish landskap (“landscape, scenery, province”), Icelandic landskapur (“countryside”).

cog

(computing, printing, uncountable) a mode of printing where the horizontal sides are longer than the vertical sides


paragon

From Anglo-Norman paragone, peragone, Middle French paragon, from Italian paragone (“comparison”) or Spanish parangón, from Byzantine Greek παρακόνη (parakónē, “whetstone”), from Ancient Greek παρακονάω (parakonáō, “I sharpen, whet”), from παρά (pará) + ἀκόνη (akónē, “whetstone”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).

affix

(typography, printing, dated) The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point.


pearl

en-noun

pearl (countable and uncountable, plural pearls)

Horace
Jean Jannon
New Testament
Vergil
en:pearl
en:pearl (disambiguation)
en:pearl (typography)

From Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin *pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”). Its typographic use follows the name given by Jean Jannon to the type used in his miniature editions of Vergil, Horace, & the New Testament in the 1620s, which were the smallest printed works to his time. Its surfing use derives from the supposed resemblance to pearl diving.

der

(uncountable, typography, printing, dated) The size of type between diamond and agate, standardized as 5-point.


revise

Borrowed from Middle French réviser, from Latin revīsō, from re- + vīsō (“examine”), frequentative of videō (“see”).

The question is, not whether the revises of the Catalogue, which I was obliged to circulate prematurely, were faultless, but whether the alterations which I was desired to make would not render them worse.

1837, Anthony Panizzi, A letter to His Royal Highness the President of the Royal Society, on the New Catalogue of the Library of that Institution Now in the Press, page 30:

1869 August 16, Anthony Trollope, letter to W. H. Bradbury, 1983, N. John Hall (editor), The Letters of Anthony Trollope, Volume 1: 1835-1870, page 479,
Looking back at the revises of Bullhampton it seems to me that the printers have fallen into some error as to the numbering of Chapters XXXIV—XXXV—XXXVI—which should have been XXXV—XXXVI— and XXXVII.

1917, United States Congress: House Committee on Rules, Alleged Divulgence of President′s note to Belligerent Powers, page 1440,
I still held the revises; kept them until the type was made up and went to the press, for final page proof.

[…]until I had corrected the proofs of the novel and seen the revises, so that the text was irrevocably fixed, before beginning the screenplay.

1997, David Lodge, The Practice of Writing, published 2011, page 219:

(printing) A second proof sheet; a proof sheet taken after the first or a subsequent correction.


scabby

en-adj

scabby (comparative scabbier, superlative scabbiest)

scabbier (comparative)
scabbiest (superlative)

From Middle English scabby, scabbie, equivalent to scab + -y. Doublet of shabby.

(printing) Having a blotched, uneven appearance.


slice

From Middle English sclise, sklise, from Old French esclice, esclis (“a piece split off”), deverbal of esclicer, esclicier (“to splinter, split up”), from Frankish *slitjan (“to split up”), from Proto-Germanic *slitjaną, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to split, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyd- (“to rend, injure, crumble”). Akin to Old High German sliz, gisliz (“a tear, rip”), Old High German slīzan (“to tear”), Old English slītan (“to split up”), modern French éclisse. More at slite, slit.

der

(printing) A removable sliding bottom to a galley.


stack

en-verb

stack (third-person singular simple present stacks, present participle stacking, simple past and past participle stacked)

stacks (present singular third-person)
stacking (participle present)
stacked (participle past)
stacked (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-stack.wav

From Middle English stack, stacke, stakke, stak, from Old Norse stakkr (“a barn; haystack; heap; pile”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“a barn; rick; haystack”).
The data structure sense is a calque of Dutch stapel, introduced by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Cognate with Icelandic stakkur (“stack”), Swedish stack (“stack”), Danish stak (“stack”), Norwegian stakk (“stack”). Related to stake and sauna.

натрупвам

To place objects or material in the form of a stack

(printing) To have excessive ink transfer.


vignette

First attested in 1751. From French vignette, diminutive of vigne (“vine”), from Latin vīnea, from vīnum (“wine”). Replaced earlier Middle English vynet.

The centrality of this particular trope can been seen in the vignette adorning the opening page of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1751–1752).

2011, William Burgwinkle, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Wilson, The Cambridge History of French Literature, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 420:

(printing) A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position.

винетка

decorative design at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book


impression

en-noun

impression (countable and uncountable, plural impressions)

From Old French impression, from Latin impressio.

(printing) set of copies of a publication printed at one time having the same content, layout, pagination, etc.


text

text (countable and uncountable, plural texts)

From Middle English text, from Old French texte (“text”), from Medieval Latin textus (“the Scriptures, text, treatise”), from Latin textus (“style or texture of a work”), perfect passive participle of texō (“I weave”). Cognate to English texture.

der

German text

(printing) A style of writing in large characters; also, a kind of type used in printing.


cancel

en-verb

cancel (third-person singular simple present cancels, present participle cancelling or (US) canceling, simple past and past participle cancelled or (US) canceled)

cancels (present singular third-person)
cancelling (participle present)
canceling (US participle present)
cancelled (participle past)
cancelled (past)
canceled (US participle past)
canceled (US past)

→ German: canceln

→ Gulf Arabic: كنسل (kansal)

→ Welsh: canslo

From Middle English cancellen, from Anglo-Norman canceler (“to cross out with lines”) (modern French chanceler (“to stagger, sway”)), from Latin cancellō (“to make resemble a lattice”), from cancellus (“a railing or lattice”), diminutive of cancer (“a lattice”).

der

kanzellieren (obsolete or translationese)

(printing, dated) To suppress or omit; to strike out, as matter in type.


cancel

(printing) The suppression on striking out of matter in type, or of a printed page or pages.


fist

From Middle English fist, from Old English fȳst (“fist”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūsti, of uncertain origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Fääste (“fist”), West Frisian fûst (“fist”), Dutch vuist (“fist”), German Low German Fuust (“fist”), German Faust (“fist”). More at five.


throw up

en-verb

throw up (third-person singular simple present throws up, present participle throwing up, simple past threw up, past participle thrown up)

throws up (present singular third-person)
throwing up (participle present)
threw up (past)
thrown up (participle past)

The vomit sense is a clipping of throw up one's accounts (18th century), from earlier idiom cast up one's accounts (15th century).

(obsolete, transitive, printing) To give special prominence to a line or lines.


shoulder

From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sculdra, sculdor (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuldru (“shoulder”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), see shield. Cognate with Old Frisian skuldere (“shoulder”) (West Frisian skouder (“shoulder”)), Middle Low German scholder (“shoulder”), Low German Schuller (“shoulder”), Dutch schouder (“shoulder”), German Schulter (“shoulder”).

inh

you can't put an old head on young shoulders

(printing) The flat portion of type that is below the bevelled portion that joins up with the face.


hickey

(printing) A printing defect caused by foreign matter on the printing surface resulting in a ring where the ink is missing, appearing as a spot of ink surrounded by a halo, or as an unprinted spot within a solid printed area.

pecka

Years ago, there were internal company standards for dark center (ink color) hickeys and for white voids in solids/type.

2008, American Printer, volume 125, page 63:

It is generally believed, by those who study such things, that serif typefaces are easier to read when reading a lot of words. The hickeys (serifs) on each letter tend to push our eye toward the next letter.

2018, Paul W. Ross, Revival: The Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists:

(printing, informal) A serif or other ornamentation on type.


post

Inherited from Old English post (“pillar, door-post”) and Latin postis (“a post, a door-post”) through Old French. .

inh+

(paper, printing) A printing paper size measuring 19.25 inches x 15.5 inches.


screen

From Middle English scren, screne (“windscreen, firescreen”), from Anglo-Norman escren (“firescreen, the tester of a bed”), Old French escren, escrein, escran (modern French écran (“screen”)), from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch *skirm, from Proto-West Germanic *skirmi, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz (“fur, shelter, covering, screen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut, divide”).
Cognate with Dutch scherm (“screen”), German Schirm (“screen”). Doublet of scherm.
An alternative etymology derives Old French escren, escran from Old Dutch *scranc (“barrier”) (compare Middle Dutch schranc, schranke (“palisade, trellis, grid”), German Schrank (“cupboard, cabinet”), German Schranke (“fence”)), from Proto-West Germanic *skrank, from Proto-Germanic *skrankaz.

der

A material woven from fine wires intended to block animals or large particles from passing while allowing gasses, liquids and finer particles to pass.

(printing) A stencil upon a framed mesh through which paint is forced onto printed-on material; the frame with the mesh itself.


letterpress

en-noun

letterpress (countable and uncountable, plural letterpresses)

(printing) The printing process in which ink is applied to the top surface of a raised image area, which is then pressed against paper to transfer the image.

(printing) Printing directly from type, in distinction from printing from plates.

(printing) A machine used for such printing.