{"id":4520,"date":"2026-07-18T15:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4520"},"modified":"2026-07-18T19:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T19:13:50","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-a-fountain-of-fonts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4520","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; A Fountain of Fonts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In this Adventure in Etymology we uncover the roots of the word <strong>font<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/profzucker\/54957483239\/in\/photolist-2rJpt5t-2dMWTxL-2jkUSxt-q2o72p-a9zrmq-btycpa-o2Uwo9-x5rm1-4K6fam-66Txtx-fGH9J2-9GM865-mxWbt-29xArkD-4e4SrP-5tMs3Y-4L7Xaq-G6tjdn-5w8ooc-qiBDYT-23JbMeL-CM87L9-oaEMaL-catyn3-5B6BM9-4Kqy9t-9dxz5x-bytfJ2-aG6GJ-2mhE236-cUNURd-qVyj3-nVAyco-bNbpmP-5waYFU-nVCj9b-q2fY85-2moYVhC-26MP8iE-xvx2bX-MQwcT-9aNm27-5mGJmB-e1zoLR-btycoF-6kU963-cUND7Q-6kQ1s2-Cbj1FM-cgh8Lu\" title=\"font\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54957483239_258961ca4c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" alt=\"font\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>font<\/strong> [f\u0252nt \/ f\u0251nt] is a receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism, or a receptacle for lamp oil in a lamp. <\/p>\n<p>It comes from Old English <em>fant\/font<\/em> (font, fountain, spring), from Latin <em>f\u014dns<\/em> (spring, well, fountain), from Proto-Italic <em>*fontis<\/em> (spring, well), possibly from PIE <em>d\u02b0enh\u2082-<\/em> (to flow, set in motion) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/font#Etymology_1\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>fonte<\/strong> (source, spring) in Italian, <strong>fuente<\/strong> (spring, fountain, source, dish, bowl, font) in Spanish, <strong>fontaine<\/strong> (fountain, cistern, tank) in French, <strong>ffynnon<\/strong> (spring, fountain, well) in Welsh, and <strong>fountain<\/strong> English [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/fons#Latin\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/kplawver\/3698270\/in\/photolist-jXnh-nh7Fcj-8FnHgy-7kb2xL-fcUX-7KPwUs-Q8Y7ws-bisXy2-4BRj1G-LomBzA-xYuP2-nsKrDs-csRTVW-6Y2AMS-7HZW8d-bNvG8D-3HfQX6-L7tgHG-byQorC-5VjRUZ-hdVJX-7NcVW5-dxHBN6-cNiqo-4V6DwX-QGnUs-BYMLd-61zbS6-3rwftR-8XnRm8-MiQZ-7rySfS-BYMLi-5c9x9v-7HBjUm-72YXBj-dZerfY-8Sy7W-amK7Sh-Lon74E-BYP8D-5cdMyU-8GSoux-2344P7d-5kq2Qh-KB49LR-L7sJLw-6hL88X-2PnFf-fcTG\" title=\"Typefaces Galore\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/2\/3698270_401d898f8c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Typefaces Galore\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>font<\/strong> is also a set of glyphs of unified design, belonging to one typeface, style, and weight. Usually representing the letters of an alphabet and its supplementary characters. Or in other words, a typeface.<\/p>\n<p>It comes from Middle French <em>fonte<\/em> (the act\/process of founding, melting), which comes from Old French <em>fondre<\/em> (to melt), from Latin <em>fund\u014d<\/em> (to pour out, melt, cast, found), Proto-Italic <em>*hund\u014d<\/em> (to pour out), from PIE <em>*\u01f5\u02b0ewd-<\/em> (to pour) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/font#Etymology_2\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>fondre<\/strong> (to melt, smelt) in French, <strong>hundir<\/strong> (to sink, engulf, ruin) in Spanish, <strong>gieten<\/strong> (to pour, mould, cast) in Dutch, <strong>ffynnu<\/strong> (to prosper) in Welsh, and <strong>found<\/strong>,  <strong>fund<\/strong>, <strong>fuse<\/strong> English [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/%C7%B5%CA%B0ewd-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/aaronrhawkins\/42409323210\/in\/photolist-27BySgL-ALb1eM-hdk4j2-9ZtKGG-25WUg2G-nQ3cKC-oA3WMW-skMfDD-287YW2d-PYuaMK-CgXuXa-ru43HB-Eod7mk-27ac5xK-2es8oSr-omhnJ9-DPbiYp-7wFU2X-twmTGs-Ynaqoh-GhCA8X-FnWme2-Y2ToQ6-oaG6Jo-FTeY6R-yCXD13-27nTYvA-N1yBAL-tGUZAH-EpNWPx-kyvnrP-23EAEVc-27omdv1-21D2HJf-njBWib-SqsRoG-JRLmWb-5EaQBe-reDvDo-zdQB1q-8SmiJb-Y1S5FR-2784fD1-Ahmn2W-KF4KE-HQpyhL-e8tCbm-954DUm-2eFWa1Q-XtJ4eu\" title=\"Rick Springs - Water from the Rocks\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/1893\/42409323210_bfe3af8cdc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" alt=\"Rick Springs - Water from the Rocks\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>font<\/strong> can also be a source of wellspring. This possibly comes from <strong>fount<\/strong> (a spring), which is a clipping of <strong>fountain<\/strong> [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/font#Etymology_3\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n   crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n   style=\"display:block\"\n   data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n   data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n   data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n   data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this Adventure in Etymology we uncover the roots of the word font. A font [f\u0252nt \/ f\u0251nt] is a receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism, or a receptacle for lamp oil in a lamp. It comes from Old English fant\/font (font, fountain, spring), from Latin f\u014dns (spring, well, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,47,20,56,23,12,4,50,140,11,55,1,59,133,28,7],"tags":[90,467,468,9,167,88,8,103],"class_list":["post-4520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-italian","category-language","category-latin","category-middle-french","category-music","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-podcast","category-proto-indo-european","category-proto-italic","category-spanish","category-welsh","tag-etymology","tag-font","tag-fountain","tag-language","tag-linguistics","tag-omniglot","tag-podcast","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4520"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4524,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4520\/revisions\/4524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}