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kerning

[kur-ning]
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noun Printing.
  1. the setting of two letters closer together than is usual by removing space between them.
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Origin of kerning

First recorded in 1675–85; kern2 + -ing1

kern1

[kurn]Printing.
noun
  1. a part of the face of a type projecting beyond the body or shank, as in certain italic letters.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to form or furnish with a kern, as a type or letter.
  2. to remove a portion of space between (adjacent letters) in preparation for printing.
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Origin of kern1

1675–85; < French carne corner of type ≪ Latin cardin- (stem of cardō) hinge

kern4

[kurn]British Dialect
verb (used without object)
  1. (of a tree or plant) to produce or form kernels, hard grain, or seed.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to granulate, especially to granulate salt.
  2. to cover with crystalline grains of salt; salt (meat).
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noun
  1. Obsolete. a kernel, as of a nut; a grain, as of sand or wheat.
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Origin of kern4

1275–1325; Middle English kirnen, kerne (v.); akin to kirnelen to develop into seed; see kernel

kern5

[kurn]
verb (used with or without object), noun Scot. and North England.
  1. churn.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kerning

Contemporary Examples

British Dictionary definitions for kerning

kerning

noun
  1. printing the adjustment of space between the letters of words to improve the appearance of text matter
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kern1

kerne

noun
  1. the part of the character on a piece of printer's type that projects beyond the body
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verb
  1. (tr) to furnish (a typeface) with a kern
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Word Origin

C17: from French carne corner of type, projecting angle, ultimately from Latin cardō hinge

kern2

noun
  1. a lightly armed foot soldier in medieval Ireland or Scotland
  2. a troop of such soldiers
  3. archaic a loutish peasant
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Word Origin

C14: from Middle Irish cethern band of foot soldiers, from cath battle

kern3

noun
  1. engineering the central area of a wall, column, etc, through which all compressive forces pass
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Word Origin

from German Kern core, heart

Kern

noun
  1. Jerome (David). 1885–1945, US composer of musical comedies, esp Show Boat (1927)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for kerning

kern

n.

1680s, "part of a metal type projecting beyond the body," as the head of an -f- or the tail of a -j-, from French carne "projecting angle, quill of a pen," from Latin cardinem "hinge."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper