Glossary

Manuela Müller

Antiqua

Antiqua is a German noun that translates to Latin script (derived from the
female version of the Latin adjective antiquus, i. e. antiqua meaning ancient
or „former; old“). Antiqua also refers to a class of typefaces which were
designed between 1470 and 1600 in Italy by German and French craftsmen.
The capital letters of this typeface class were inspired by the capital letters
of Roman imprints, whereas the small letters were modeled on Carolingian
minuscules in which medieval manuscripts on Roman emperors and
philosophers such as Caesar, Seneca and Cicero were written. In the
vernacular Antiqua is also used as synonym for serif typefaces.

Baseline

In order to achieve straight lines of text, letters are set on a baseline. Only
descenders – the lower glyphs in „g“ or „p“ – go below this line.