Ascender (typography)

{{short description|Portion of a minuscule letter}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

File:Typographic ascenders.png

In typography and handwriting, an ascender is the portion of a minuscule letter in a Latin-derived alphabet that extends above the mean line of a font. That is, the part of a lower-case letter that is taller than the font's x-height.

Ascenders, together with descenders, increase the recognizability of words. For this reason, many situations that require high legibility such as road signs avoid using solely capital letters (i.e. all-caps).{{Cite book |last=Sampson |first=Geoffrey |title=Writing Systems: A linguistic introduction |pages=[https://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof/page/94 94–95] |location=Stanford, California |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1985 |isbn=0-8047-1254-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof/page/94}}

Studies made at the start of the construction of the British motorway network concluded that words with mixed-case letters were much easier to read than "all-caps" and a special font was designed for motorway signs. These then became universal across the UK. See Road signs in the United Kingdom.

File:Bembo large.jpg in metal type. Ascenders such as the "f" stand far above the cap line.]]

In many fonts intended for body text, such as Bembo and Garamond, ascenders rise above the cap height of the capital letters.{{cite web |last1=Slimbach |first1=Robert |title=Using Acumin |author-link=Robert Slimbach |url=http://acumin.typekit.com/usage/ |website=Acumin microsite |publisher=Adobe Systems |access-date=6 January 2016}}{{cite journal |last1=Warde |first1=Beatrice |author-link=Beatrice Warde |title=The 'Garamond' Types |journal=The Fleuron |date=1926 |pages=131–179 |url=http://www.garamond.culture.fr/en/page/the_article_by_beatrice_warde}}{{cite journal |last1=Amert |first1=Kay |title=Stanley Morison's Aldine Hypothesis Revisited |journal=Design Issues |date=April 2008 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=53–71 |doi=10.1162/desi.2008.24.2.53 |jstor=25224167 |s2cid=57566512}}{{cite journal |last1=Morison |first1=Stanley |title=Early Humanistic Script and the First Roman Type |journal=The Library |date=1943 |volume=s4-XXIV |issue=1–2 |pages=1–29 |doi=10.1093/library/s4-XXIV.1-2.1}}

File:Typography Line Terms.svg.
For broader context, see Typeface anatomy.]]