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noun Very common

en

EHN
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En (noun) means a printing and typography unit of measurement equal to half the width of an em, roughly the width of the letter "n" in a given typeface. Example: “The typesetter measured the gap in ens rather than in millimetres.”

noun
1
A printing and typography unit of measurement equal to half the width of an em, roughly the width of the letter "n" in a given typeface.
"The typesetter measured the gap in ens rather than in millimetres."
"A space the width of one en separates the number from the label."
"The designer set half an en of space between the columns."
2
The name of the letter N in the Latin alphabet.
"I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time." — Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps (2004)
"Children learn that en comes after em in the alphabet."
"The teacher wrote a large en on the board for the class."
"She spelled it out letter by letter: "en, oh, en.""

How to use en

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMostly known today through "en dash" — a punctuation mark roughly the width of the letter N, used to show ranges like "pages 10–20."

Common mistake

Don't confuse an "en dash" (–, medium length) with an "em dash" (—, longer) or a plain hyphen (-, shortest).

Easily confused with
em →
Common pairings
en dash en space
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Word forms

Plural
ens
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Fill the gap

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The typesetter measured the gap in _____ rather than in millimetres.

Etymology

From the Latin name of the letter; the typographic sense (a unit half the width of an "em") dates to the late 18th century, by analogy with the letter M being wider than N.

Origin: Latin · First attested 1700

Class of 1700 en joined the language around 1700.
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See the full Class of 1700 →

Synonyms

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nut

Related words

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Frequently asked questions

What does “en” mean?
The word “en” means a printing and typography unit of measurement equal to half the width of an em, roughly the width of the letter "n" in a given typeface. In plain terms, mostly known today through "en dash" — a punctuation mark roughly the width of the letter N, used to show ranges like "pages 10–20.".
How do you pronounce “en”?
“En” is pronounced EHN (/ˈɛn/ in IPA).
How do you use “en” in a sentence?
Here is “en” used in a sentence: “The designer set half an en of space between the columns.”
What part of speech is “en”?
“En” is a noun.
Where does the word “en” come from?
The word “en” dates back to around 1700 and comes from Latin. From the Latin name of the letter; the typographic sense (a unit half the width of an "em") dates to the late 18th century, by analogy with the letter M being wider than N.
Is “en” a common word?
“En” is a very common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “en” have?
“En” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a printing and typography unit of measurement equal to half the width of an em, roughly the width of the letter "n" in a given typeface.
What is the difference between an en and an em?
Both are typographic units based on the current font size. An em equals the point size — roughly the width of a capital 'M' — while an en is exactly half an em, about the width of an 'n.' They name spaces and dashes too: an en dash is half the width of an em dash.
What is an en dash used for?
An en dash, half the width of an em dash, is mainly used to show ranges, such as 'pages 10–20' or '1939–1945,' where it means 'to.' It also links related terms, as in 'the London–Paris route.' It is longer than a hyphen but shorter than the em dash used to break sentences.
Why is it called an en?
The name comes from typography's habit of measuring space by letter widths. An en is roughly the width of a lowercase 'n' in the current typeface, just as an em matches the wider 'M.' The units are relative, so their actual size changes with the font size being used.

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Vocabulary lists that include en:

Words that start with E Words that end with N The 2000 most common English words The 5000 most common English words

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