Wrote
Also called: serif or roman
Within typography, a serif is a transversely placed line or bracket at the end of a letter. In English, a serif is called a serif. Fonts in which the letters contain serifs are also called serif fonts or roman. If a font does not have them, we refer to it as sans serif.
Typefaces are widely used in longer texts, such as books and newspaper articles. Because letters are more distinct from each other and the serifs simultaneously provide cohesion between the letters, longer texts are easier to read.
An exception to this are texts on a screen, where it is actually pleasant to read if letters are made up of fewer pixels. Sans serif fonts are generally perceived as more modern than serif fonts partly because of this.
The emergence of serif fonts
The origin of serifs is not entirely clear. They could originate from letters carved from stone in Roman antiquity. These letters were usually first painted on the stone with paint, so the brackets could come from the brush marks on the legs of the letters.
According to another theory, the serifs were deliberately added to make the carved letters look neater. From this theory, the saying "going over the top" is also derived.
Well-known serif fonts are Times New Roman, Garamond and Georgia.
