Antiqua

See also: antiqua

English

Etymology

From Latin antīqua, feminine of antīquus.

Noun

Antiqua (countable and uncountable, plural Antiquas) (typography)

1. A style of typeface used to mimic styles of handwriting or calligraphy common during the 15th and 16th centuries.
   • 1923, Stanley Morison, Holbrook Jackson, A Brief Survey of Printing: History and Practice, page 36:

     The Tiemann antiqua of 1909 was a real success, however, and has found favour in England. The companion italic, the Tiemann kursiv is an even more handsome letter. Klingspor’s recent antiquas also include a highly successful character designed by Peter Behrens in 1914. The latest creation is an antiqua cut by Rudolph Koch.

   • 1980, Jock Kinneir, Words and Buildings: The Art and Practice of Public Lettering, →ISBN, page 36:

     The early letters of this kind have been classified as Transitional, implying that in their development they lay between the Antiquas and the Moderns; but when one looks at the free individualism of the street names of Bath, 25 and 26, it is obviously inappropriate nomenclature and only English will do.

   • 1994, Karl H. Warkentin, “16. Classifying Typefaces according to DIN”, in Peter Karow, editor, Font Technology: Methods and Tools, →ISBN, “Summary”, page 356:

     Class VI Sanserifs is just as disorganized. Here, pure Antiquas are grouped with sanserif and classical typefaces. Moreover, there are Humanist styles and other partly-constructed sanserif styles that are meant chiefly for display purposes. / Class VII Display Antiquas can easily be regarded as a catch-all class simply from its name.

2. Any typeface with serifs and modulation (often as opposed to Gothic).

Translations

Translations

• Polish: antykwa (pl) f

Further reading

• Antiqua (typeface class) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia