font 1  (f ŏnt)
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n.1. A basin for holding baptismal water in a church. 2. A receptacle for holy water; a stoup. 3. The oil reservoir in an oil-burning lamp. 4. An abundant source; a fount: She was a font of wisdom and good sense.
[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin fōns, font-, from Latin, fountain.]
fontal (fŏntl) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
font 2  (f ŏnt)
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n. Printing A complete set of type of one size and face.
[French fonte, casting, from Old French (from Vulgar Latin *fundita, from Late Latin, feminine of *funditus, past participle of Latin fundere, to pour forth; see FONDANT) or from Old French fondre, to melt (from Latin fundere).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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