Widow (typesetting)
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In typesetting, a widow occurs when the majority of a paragraph appears on one page with the last line of that paragraph flowing to the top of the following page. Because the entire paragraph did not fit in its entirety on one page, its last line of text was forced to "continue on its own" as a widow on the following page. A widow can also be defined as a single word appearing on a line by itself at the end of a paragraph. Collins English Dictionary defines "widow" in printing as "A short line at the end of a paragraph, especially one that occurs as the top line of a page or column".
In the converse situation, an orphan is the first line of a paragraph appearing on its own at the bottom of a page with the remaining portion of the paragraph appearing on the following page. The first line of the paragraph was "left behind" by the remaining portion of text.
The easiest way to remember the difference between and an orphan and a widow is to remember that orphans are "left behind" and widows are forced to "go on ahead by themselves" just as an orphan or widow in life. Orphans are separated segments of text at the beginning of a paragraph or sentence while widows are separated segments of text at the end of a paragraph or sentence.
Orphans and widows are considered sloppy typography and should be avoided. Some techniques for eliminating orphans and widows include:
- Forcing a page break early, producing a shorter page;
- Adjusting the leading (rhymes with "heading", meaning the space between lines of text);
- Adjusting the kerning (meaning the space between letters and words) to produce 'tighter' or 'looser' paragraphs;
- Adjusting the page's margins;
- Subtle scaling of the page, though too much non-uniform scaling can visibly distort the letters;
- Rewriting a portion of the paragraph.
[edit] References
First Sense:
- [1] TeX FAQ - Controlling widows and orphans, accessed March 16, 2006.
- Collins English Dictionary 6th edition. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-00-710982-2
Second Sense:
Persistence of Both Senses:
