M

MacRoman

Font encoding used by versions of the Macintosh operating system that predate OS X. It incorporates some characters from the Symbol font.

majuscules

See uppercase.

manual kerning

Adjusting on a case-by-case basis the spacing between specific pairs of characters.

marks of omission

See points of ellipsis.

master

In type design, a set of drawings of the characters in a typeface for imaging at a specific size. Most digital fonts contain a single set of master outlines, typically drawn for use at text size.

matrix

In the Monotype metal typecasting system, a font composed of a grid of molds into which hot metal was injected to create individual printing blocks one at a time.

mean line

The imaginary line that runs along the top of the nonascending lowercase letters in a particular typeface, corresponding to the face’s x-height.

measure

The width of a column of type, or the length over which a line of type is justified. Type set with justified margins fills the measure; lines of type set with ragged margins typically fall short of filling it.

mechanical alignment

The alignment of type elements according to the measurements of a typesetting program. Because of the various shapes of typeset characters and the shapes created by different margin settings, mechanically aligned text elements may not look properly aligned. See optical alignment.

metrics

See font metrics.

minuscules

See lowercase.

modern face

A typeface based on eighteenth-century models that feature high contrast between stroke weights, unbracketed hairline serifs set at right angles, and vertical stress. Examples are the many typefaces called Bodoni.

monoline

Descriptive of a typeface having uniform stroke weights throughout. Monoline typefaces include many geometric sans serif faces, many slab serif faces, and most typewriter faces.

monospaced

A term describing typefaces in which all the characters have the same width, as is common with typewriter faces such as Courier.

Multiple Master

A variety of OpenType font containing two or more sets of master character outlines designed for use in specific point-size ranges.