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Etymonline's entries for the homonyms "counter" don't semantically appertain to its meaning in typography. How does "counter" in typography relate to the common lay English 2021 meanings of "co...
#2: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2022-01-03T00:32:14Z (almost 3 years ago)
In typography, why does "counter" signify the area of a letter entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol?
- Why does "counter" mean the area of a letter entirely, or partially, enclosed by a letter form or a symbol?
1. [Etymonline's entries for the homonyms "counter"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/counter#etymonline_v_53612) don't semantically appertain to its meaning in typography. How does "counter" in typography relate to the etymology of "counter"?2. Why did the typography industry choose "counter"?[DA01's answer on Graphic Design S.E.](https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/29766).- [Martin Silvertant's answer to _What is a counter in typography?_](https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-counter-in-typography/answer/Martin-Silvertant)
- > Counters are the negative spaces inside letter forms. In the images below you can see all counters in capital and lowercase letters with closed letter forms, with the counters in blue and green.
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- > * * *
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- > Closed counters are in medium blue, while open counters are in light blue.
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- > 
- >
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- > * * *
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- > Closed counters are in medium green, while open counters are in light green.
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- > 
- >
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- > * * *
- 1. [Etymonline's entries for the homonyms "counter"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/counter#etymonline_v_53612) don't semantically appertain to its meaning in typography. How does "counter" in typography relate to the common lay English 2021 meanings of "counter"? [Solely Wrzlprmft♦'s answer distinguishes "counter" from "aperture"](https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/140043).
- 2. Why did the typography industry choose "counter" to signify this concept?
- [Martin Silvertant's answer to _What is a counter in typography?_](https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-counter-in-typography/answer/Martin-Silvertant)
- > Counters are the negative spaces inside letter forms. In the images below you can see all counters in capital and lowercase letters with closed letter forms, with the counters in blue and green.
- >
- > * * *
- >
- > Closed counters are in medium blue, while open counters are in light blue.
- >
- > 
- >
- > 
- >
- > * * *
- >
- > Closed counters are in medium green, while open counters are in light green.
- >
- > 
- >
- > 
- >
- > * * *
#1: Initial revision
by
PSTH
·
2021-07-16T07:15:54Z (over 3 years ago)
In typography, why does "counter" signify the area of a letter entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol?
1. [Etymonline's entries for the homonyms "counter"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/counter#etymonline_v_53612) don't semantically appertain to its meaning in typography. How does "counter" in typography relate to the etymology of "counter"? 2. Why did the typography industry choose "counter"? [DA01's answer on Graphic Design S.E.](https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/29766).  [Martin Silvertant's answer to _What is a counter in typography?_](https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-counter-in-typography/answer/Martin-Silvertant) > Counters are the negative spaces inside letter forms. In the images below you can see all counters in capital and lowercase letters with closed letter forms, with the counters in blue and green. > > * * * > > Closed counters are in medium blue, while open counters are in light blue. > >  > >  > > * * * > > Closed counters are in medium green, while open counters are in light green. > >  > >  > > * * *