kerned


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kern 1

also kerne  (kûrn)
n.
1. A medieval Scottish or Irish foot soldier.
2. A loutish person.

[Middle English kerne, from Middle Irish ceithern, ceithernn, band of soldiers, from Old Irish.]

kern 2

 (kûrn) Printing
n.
The portion of a typeface that projects beyond the body or shank of a character.
tr.v. kerned, kern·ing, kerns
1. To provide (type) with a kern.
2. To adjust space between (characters) in typeset text.

[French carne, corner, from Old North French, from Latin cardō, cardin-, hinge.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.