x-height

[ eks-hahyt ]

noun

, Typography.

1. the height of a lowercase x.

x-height

noun

1. printing the height of lower case letters of a typeface, without ascenders or descenders

Other Words From

• x-high [eks, -, hahy], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of x-height¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

While it’s common to simply increase the point size to make text easier to read, Mr Stobberup says that readability is actually determined by x-height.

From BBC

The x-height is the height of most lowercase letters in the Latin alphabet, and makes up nearly all of the printed marks on a page.

From BBC

The x-height can be increased without enlarging all of the text.

From BBC

For many designers, increasing the x-height is key to increasing legibility .

From BBC

This has a larger x-height than, for instance, the popular typeface Garamond.

From BBC