In typography, what term refers to a single word or short line left at the top of a column?

In typography, what term refers to a single word or short line left at the top of a column?

• A. Orphan
• B. Widow
• C. Gutter
• D. Space

Answer: (A)

A single word or short line left at the top of a column is described as an orphan. This term is used because it highlights a stray line that starts a new column in isolation, which can interrupt the reading flow and disrupt the page’s vertical rhythm. In practice, designers try to avoid orphans by adjusting line breaks, reflowing text, or tweaking column width and hyphenation so a paragraph begins more smoothly. For context, this is distinct from the space between columns (the gutter) and from general whitespace (space) in the layout. Those elements relate to layout structure and spacing, not to a stray line of text.

A single word or short line left at the top of a column is described as an orphan. This term is used because it highlights a stray line that starts a new column in isolation, which can interrupt the reading flow and disrupt the page’s vertical rhythm. In practice, designers try to avoid orphans by adjusting line breaks, reflowing text, or tweaking column width and hyphenation so a paragraph begins more smoothly.

For context, this is distinct from the space between columns (the gutter) and from general whitespace (space) in the layout. Those elements relate to layout structure and spacing, not to a stray line of text.