Nomenclature in the 6th century

Deleted AccountDeleted Account Posts: 739
edited May 2013 in Technique and Theory
I'm wondering how many items, just a rough guess, would be on a list of all the terms used in and around typography, with at least one meaning, in 6 centuries. That would include all the non-English terms, translated into English and added, if unique to the list. . . 7,000? 10,000? 30,000!???

Comments

  • Chris LozosChris Lozos Posts: 1,458
    Many more than six centuries past ;-)
  • David, it's my understanding that the Visigoths and Vandals, who were big items in the 6th century, would cut out the tongues of anyone heard using typographic terminology. Back then, a "wayzgoose" still had something to do with roasting geese. "Type drawers" were a kind of underwear.
  • Not in the 6th century, ya Vandal, in this, the 6th century of type...;)
  • John HudsonJohn Hudson Posts: 2,955
    Perhaps an easier question to answer would be how many typographic terms have only one meaning. I reckon that's a pretty short list.
  • Nick ShinnNick Shinn Posts: 2,131
    There are 1830 entries in Typowiki.
    Not being a lexicographer, I’d be reluctant to hazard a guess on six centuries and hundreds of languages.
  • Jan SchmoegerJan Schmoeger Posts: 280
    I have an old Dictionary of Printing Terms with 4005 entries. That is more than just typography: editing, layout, repro, printing, collating, binding, etc. And 30,000 different words sounds too many—do I remember right that that's the lot in Shakespeare's English?

    I'm going with 2013 words, and then one new one each year.
  • " I’d be reluctant to hazard a guess "

    I'll insure you for up to 30 seconds.

    "...how many typographic terms have only one meaning."

    "Punch" has only one meaning as a noun, and one as a verb, which is pretty good after 6 c.

    And "later", I think, has also been universally agreed upon throughout?

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