 {| style="float: right; margin: 0 1em 1em; border: solid 1px black;" | image:serif and sans-serif 01.svg | sans-serif font |- | image:serif and sans-serif 02.svg | serif font |- | image:serif and sans-serif 03.svg | serif font(red serifs) |} in typography, a serif  is a small line attached to the end of a stroke in a letter or symbol, such as when handwriting is separated into distinct units for a typewriter or typesetter. a typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface (or serifed typeface). a typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the french sans, meaning "without". some typography sources refer to sans-serif typefaces as "grotesque" (in german "grotesk") or "gothic", and serif typefaces as "roman". ==origins and etymology==  serifs originated in the latin alphabet with inscriptional letteringâwords carved into stone in roman antiquity. the explanation proposed by father edward catich in his 1968 book the origin of the serif is now broadly but not universally accepted: the roman letter outlines were first painted onto stone, and the stone carvers followed the brush marks which flared at stroke ends and corners, creating serifs. another theory is that serifs were devised to neaten the ends of lines as they were chiseled into stone.{{cite book|title=the linotype bulletin|date=januaryâfebruary 1921|page=265|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=q4bnaaaamaaj&dq=serif%20chisel&pg=pa266-ia7#v=onepage&q=serif%20chisel&f=false|acces
Serif_typefaces Typography