ascenders
Parts reaching skyward
Ascenders are the parts of lowercase letters that rise above the main body of text—the upward strokes in b, d, f, h, k, l, and t.
In typography and handwriting instruction, ascenders pair with descenders (the parts that drop below the baseline, as in g, j, p, q, y).
The term also applies to people or things that ascend: The first ascenders reached the summit at dawn.
Standard for comparison
- x-heightLowercase letter body dimension
- descendersLetter parts hanging below
- serifLetter terminal flourish
- sans-serifType without terminal strokes
glyph · typeface · font · kerning · leading · crossbar · stem · loop
Fourth alphabetic character, minuscule
Upright stair sections
- climbersThose who scale heights
- achieversThose who accomplish goals
- striversPeople who work hard
- upwardToward a higher position
advancement · progression · elevation · rising · aspirants · go-getters · high-flyers · movers
baseline
Standard for comparison
- x-heightLowercase letter body dimension
- descendersLetter parts hanging below
- serifLetter terminal flourish
sans-serif · glyph · typeface · font · kerning · leading · crossbar · stem · loop · bowl
d
Fourth alphabetic character, minuscule
risers
Upright stair sections
upward · advancement · progression · elevation · rising · aspirants · go-getters · high-flyers · movers
climbers
Those who scale heights
- mountaineersHigh-altitude peak scalers
- alpinistsMountain climbing enthusiasts
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
carabiner · belay · crampons · rope · harness · piton · rappel · bivouac · crevasse · icefall
- Arabic calligraphykufi, calligrapher, reed pen, bismillah, letterforms
- expedition gearbackpack, binoculars, compass, climbing rope, canteen
- handwritingcursive, block letters, penmanship, print letters, legible
- typographyletters, font, calligraphy, font design, sans serif
- calligraphyChinese calligraphy, Japanese calligraphy, Arabic calligraphy, Islamic calligraphy, blackletter
- letteringlettering styles, letterforms, calligraphy, hand lettering, handwriting