English▸ verb [with object]
1 adjust the spacing between (letters or characters) in a piece of text to be printed:
please kern the double underscores in the code below.
▪ make (letters) overlap.
2 design (metal type) with a projecting part beyond the body or shank:
sometimes display type is kerned.
▸ noun the part of a metal type projecting beyond its body or shank.
– ORIGIN late 17th century : perhaps from French carne ‘corner’, from Latin cardo, cardin- ‘hinge’.