Serifs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif#Origins_and_etymology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif#Origins_and_etymology "The explanation proposed by Father Ed

Serifs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif#Origins_and_etymology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif#Origins_and_etymology "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."