Endung

A terminal is the end of a stroke that does not terminate in a serif — it's the finishing point of strokes in letters like 'a', 'c', 'e', 'f', 'j', 'r', and 's', as well as the ends of curved strokes in many letterforms. Terminal style is one of the clearest identifiers of a typeface's era and design philosophy.

Terminals come in several distinct forms, each carrying different visual associations. Ball terminals end in a circular form (common in old-style and transitional serifs). Teardrop terminals have a droplet shape (found in humanist serifs and some sans-serifs). Beak terminals have a sharp, angled cut. Flat/vertical terminals are sheared cleanly at a horizontal or vertical angle (common in geometric sans-serifs). Bilateral terminals appear in italic forms, creating an organic, calligraphic finish.

/* Fonts with distinctive ball terminals — classic humanist feel */
.ball-terminal {
  font-family: 'Lora', serif;
  font-size: 20px;
  /* Notice the ball at the end of 'a', 'c', 'f' strokes */
}

/* Fonts with flat, sheared terminals — clean geometric modernity */
.geometric-terminal {
  font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif;
  font-size: 20px;
  /* Strokes end cleanly, no embellishment */
}

/* High-contrast fonts with dramatic, refined terminals */
.refined-terminal {
  font-family: 'Playfair Display', serif;
  font-size: 36px;
}

Terminal style becomes especially visible and important in display typography at large sizes. At body text sizes (14–18px), terminals are subtle. But at headline sizes (36px+), the terminal character of a font becomes a dominant visual feature that shapes the entire personality of the text.

For developers working with icon fonts or SVG text, understanding terminals helps when designing custom letterforms or verifying that font rendering matches design intent — particularly at the stroke endings where rendering differences are most visible.

Terminals are also a useful tool for font identification. When you encounter an unfamiliar typeface and want to identify it, examining the terminal style of the lowercase 'a', 'r', and 'c' is often the fastest path to narrowing down the classification. Ball terminals suggest a humanist or transitional serif heritage; perfectly flat, vertical terminals suggest geometric sans-serif influence; and angled, beak-like terminals typically point toward specific mid-century type revivals.