en-dash
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An en-dash is a typographic mark (–) wider than a hyphen but narrower than an em-dash.
It typically indicates ranges: pages 12–47, the years 1914–1918, Monday–Friday.
It also joins compound modifiers where one element is itself compound: pre–Civil War, New York–based.
Named for being roughly the width of a capital N.
Mark joining compound words
- minusSubtraction symbol
- typographyArranging letters for display
- typesettingArranging text for print
- spacingInterval arrangement between objects
separator · ellipsis · semicolon · colon · comma · apostrophe · brackets · parentheses
Distance between endpoints
- intervalDuration between two points
- spectrumContinuous range of values
- continuumUninterrupted, gradual sequence
- scopeExtent or range
extent · gamut · scale · breadth · stretch · limits · boundaries · pages
Pause within a line
- breakInterrupt continuity
- hesitationDelay from uncertainty
- interruptionBreak in continuity
- interludePause between sections
silence · gap · breath · beat · parenthetical · aside · digression · interjection
Word altering another
- attributiveDirectly preceding noun modified
- pre-warBefore a conflict
- hyphenationDash-based word linking
- word-formationCreating new vocabulary items
hyphen
Mark joining compound words
- minusSubtraction symbol
- typographyArranging letters for display
- typesettingArranging text for print
spacing · separator · ellipsis · semicolon · colon · comma · apostrophe · brackets · parentheses · formatting
span
Distance between endpoints
- intervalDuration between two points
- spectrumContinuous range of values
- continuumUninterrupted, gradual sequence
scope · extent · gamut · scale · breadth · stretch · limits · boundaries · pages · dates
caesura
Pause within a line
- breakInterrupt continuity
- hesitationDelay from uncertainty
- interruptionBreak in continuity
interlude · silence · gap · breath · beat · parenthetical · aside · digression · interjection · afterthought
modifier
Word altering another
- attributiveDirectly preceding noun modified
- pre-warBefore a conflict
- hyphenationDash-based word linking