Illustration of serif
- 1 serif
serif
noun
ser·if ˈser-əf 
: any of the short lines stemming from and at an angle to the upper and lower ends of the strokes of a letter
serifed adjective
or seriffed
ˈser-əft
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web From the serif fonts to the taglines to the excessive use of the color green, a lot of wellness brands begin to blend in with one another. 
Nicole Dunn, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Compare, for instance, the clean sans-serif lowercase fonts of Nectar, Layla, Purple, and Saatva. Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 Like, the uppercase T had a spike serif on the bottom and slab serifs on the top. Diana Budds, Curbed, 13 Oct. 2021 Just as elliptical, if more hard-edged, are Peter Downsbrough’s prints of single rust-red bars flanked by shards of black sans-serif letters and much empty space. Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2021 Bierstadt, designed by Steve Matteson, is a precise serif inspired by mid-century Swiss designs. Allison Morrow, CNN, 28 Apr. 2021 So, without the serif clues, and without reasonable visibility of the thin characters, well, the photos are beautiful. Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 27 Aug. 2020 Depending on the tile's layout, floor phrases can be spelled out in bold block letters or elegant serif fonts. Laura Lambert, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 June 2020 For instance, another study found people will rate scientific abstracts as more interesting, appealing and of higher quality when written in a serif typeface compared to a sans serif typeface. Daniel Tamul, The Conversation, 6 May 2020 See More
Nicole Dunn, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Compare, for instance, the clean sans-serif lowercase fonts of Nectar, Layla, Purple, and Saatva. Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 Like, the uppercase T had a spike serif on the bottom and slab serifs on the top. Diana Budds, Curbed, 13 Oct. 2021 Just as elliptical, if more hard-edged, are Peter Downsbrough’s prints of single rust-red bars flanked by shards of black sans-serif letters and much empty space. Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2021 Bierstadt, designed by Steve Matteson, is a precise serif inspired by mid-century Swiss designs. Allison Morrow, CNN, 28 Apr. 2021 So, without the serif clues, and without reasonable visibility of the thin characters, well, the photos are beautiful. Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 27 Aug. 2020 Depending on the tile's layout, floor phrases can be spelled out in bold block letters or elegant serif fonts. Laura Lambert, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 June 2020 For instance, another study found people will rate scientific abstracts as more interesting, appealing and of higher quality when written in a serif typeface compared to a sans serif typeface. Daniel Tamul, The Conversation, 6 May 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
probably from Dutch schreef stroke, line, from Middle Dutch, from schriven to write, from Latin scribere — more at scribe
First Known Use
1841, in the meaning defined above