In computer (or any printing) lingo - where did the terms "bold" and "highlight" come from?

Asked by NewZen (3502

) November 25th, 2009

And come to mean what they do; Printing. typeset in boldface. Highlight: To mark (important passages of text) with a usually fluorescent marker as a means of memory retention or for later reference.

Thanks Jerubas.

bold and highlight where did the

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Did you just answer your own question? If not:

bold [bəʊld] – adj
1,2,3.. Blabla. 4. standing out distinctly; conspicuous a figure carved in bold relief

My guess is the bold typeface was introduced when we were still printing by carving wood and using it as stamps. Bold text is after all designed for standing out. Are you asking why we didn’t rename it when typewriters and computers were introduced?

I’m not really sure about highlighting. I’m guessing it was introduced with fluorescent markers like you said, but not sure why exactly.

markyy (6257

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