Serif

A category of typefaces distinguished by small projecting strokes, called serifs, at the terminals of the main strokes of each character. Serif forms trace their origin to the inscriptional capitals of Roman stonecutting, where the chisel naturally produced flared terminals. Serif typefaces are subdivided by historical period and formal characteristics into

Old Style Serif,

Transitional Serif,

Modern Serif, and

Slab Serif. As a class, they are widely regarded as highly legible in continuous body text, owing to the horizontal flow that serifs establish along the

Baseline.