Kerning

[kur-ning] /ˈkɜr nɪŋ/

noun, Printing.
1.
the setting of two letters closer together than is usual by removing space between them.
[kurn] /kɜrn/ Printing.
noun
1.
a part of the face of a type projecting beyond the body or shank, as in certain italic letters.
verb (used with object)
2.
to form or furnish with a kern, as a type or letter.
3.
to remove a portion of space between (adjacent letters) in preparation for printing.
[kurn] /kɜrn/ British Dialect
verb (used without object)
1.
(of a tree or plant) to produce or form kernels, hard grain, or seed.
verb (used with object)
2.
to cause to granulate, especially to granulate salt.
3.
to cover with crystalline grains of salt; salt (meat).
noun
4.
Obsolete. a kernel, as of a nut; a grain, as of sand or wheat.
[kurn] /kɜrn/
verb (used with or without object), noun, Scot. and North England.
1.
.
/ˈkɜːnɪŋ/
noun
1.
(printing) the adjustment of space between the letters of words to improve the appearance of text matter
/kɜːn/
noun
1.
the part of the character on a piece of printer’s type that projects beyond the body
verb
2.
(transitive) to furnish (a typeface) with a kern
/kɜːn/
noun
1.
a lightly armed foot soldier in medieval Ireland or Scotland
2.
a troop of such soldiers
3.
(archaic) a loutish peasant
/kɜːn/
noun
1.
(engineering) the central area of a wall, column, etc, through which all compressive forces pass
/kɜːn/
noun
1.
Jerome (David). 1885–1945, US composer of musical comedies, esp Show Boat (1927)
n.

1680s, “part of a metal type projecting beyond the body,” as the head of an -f- or the tail of a -j-, from French carne “projecting angle, quill of a pen,” from Latin cardinem “hinge.”

text
The process of reducing the spacing between certain pairs of letters to improve their appearance. When a font is created, each character is given a width that includes some space around it so that the letters don’t run into each other when displayed or printed. This can be thought of as an invisible box around each character. Some pairs of characters such as A and V, look better if the boxes overlap slightly, bringing the characters closer together (but still not touching).
See also tracking, leading.
(1996-06-07)