Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

em quad

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.65 in modern English

Syllables
em quad
IPA
18
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A quad which has a fixed width of 1 em.

Etymology

Attested in 1841. From 1808 em quadrat, from 1683 m quadrat, from m + quadrat, a metal type, which is as wide as the point size of the font. The origin of the letter m is unclear; perhaps because the type body of the letter M was approximately square during the early days of typesetting, and to contrast it with the n quadrat, the letter n being approximately half as wide.

Inflected Forms

em quads (plural)

Phrases

em dash em space en quad

Frequently Paired Words

em dash em space en quad

Synonyms

em quadrat m quadrat mutton quad quad em

Questions

What does em quad mean?
A quad which has a fixed width of 1 em.
Where does em quad come from?
Attested in 1841. From 1808 em quadrat, from 1683 m quadrat, from m + quadrat, a metal type, which is as wide as the point size of the font. The origin of the letter m is unclear; perhaps because the type body of the letter M was approximately square during the early days of typesetting, and to contrast it with the n quadrat, the letter n being approximately half as wide.

How to pronounce em quad

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “em quad”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “em quad”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “em quad” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.