The word calligraphy comes from the Greek kalos, meaning “beautiful,” and graphein, meaning “to write.” Together, it means “to write beautifully.”

Many civilizations around the world have practiced calligraphy (and continue to do so today) using a variety of tools: brush, pen, quill, broad nib pen or brush, etc. Most even consider it to be an art form.

Today, we describe typefaces whose letters and characters are inspired by those written with a calligraphy tool and following certain calligraphy styles as calligraphic. However, this is slightly different from “script” or “handwritten” styles, as those refer to handwritten shapes free from any particular calligraphic style.