en space

English

Noun

en space (plural en spaces)

1. (typography) A space which has a nominal width of 1 en.

   Synonym: en quad

   Coordinate terms: em space, no-break space, thick space, thin space, word space, zero-width space

Usage notes

The en quad and the en space are usually synonymous as they both start as a space with a width of 1 en. However, in electronic publishing, a few contrast the two by holding that if the font is condensed or expanded to alter the width of the characters, the en quad remains 1 en in width, while the en space is altered in width to the same proportion as the printing characters.

Related terms

• en dash
• en quad

Anagrams

• peacens, pen-case, pencase