en

en · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    (Typography) A unit of measurement equal to half an em, or half the point size of the current font.

  2. 2.

    The letter N or n.

  3. 3.

    (Prefix) Used to form verbs meaning "to put into" or "to cover with."

Forms

plural: ens

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    en dash — a punctuation mark (--) used for ranges
  • •
    en space — a typographic space equal to one en
  • •
    en quad — a typographic space that is one en wide

Related words

See also: dash, em, typography

Etymology

From the letter N, representing the width of a capital N in traditional typesetting. The prefix form comes from Latin in- ("in, into") via Old French en-.