Word of the Day #22: kern

kern ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kûrn) Printing n.
The portion of a typeface that projects beyond the body or shank of a character.tr.v. kerned, kern·ing, kerns
To provide (type) with a kern.
To adjust space between (characters) in typeset text.

kerning
The process of reducing the spacing between certainpairs of letters to improve their appearance. When a fontis created, each character is given a width that includessome space around it so that the letters don't run into eachother when displayed or printed. This can be thought of as aninvisible box around each character. Some pairs of characterssuch as A and V, look better if the boxes overlap slightly,bringing the characters closer together (but still not touching).