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>Widow >A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, a widow is
by hiccuphippo 4y ago
>Widow
>A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, a widow is "alone at the top" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
>Orphan
>A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Mnemonically, an orphan is "alone at the bottom" (of the family tree but, in this case, of the page).
>Alternately, a word, part of a word, or very short line that appears by itself at the end of a paragraph. Mnemonically still "alone at the bottom", just this time at the bottom of a paragraph. Orphans of this type give the impression of too much white space between paragraphs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans
In this case the author is referring to the last definition, short lines at the end of a paragraph.
- quitit 4y agoYes this article is about orphans, not widows. However some people use the terms interchangeably. Widows don't exist without page or column divisions.
- thunderbong 4y agoThanks, I kept thinking it was a typo in the title!
- latexr 4y ago> Mnemonically (…) The one that made me remember which is which was something like “a widow continues alone while an orphan is left behind”. In practice it makes little difference if you mix up the terms, since in context the problematic line will be visible.
- weinzierl 4y agoThe traditional name for widow in German typography is Hurenkind , literally "child of a whore".