misprint n : a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind [syn: erratum, typographical error, typo, literal error, literal] v : print incorrectly

English

Noun

1. An accidental mistake in print.

   When I wrote to you saying "You're going to catch a cod if you spend all night fishing", there was a misprint. I meant to say "You're going to catch a cold."

Synonyms

• typo

Verb

1. To make a misprint.

   I misprinted his name on the invitation. He's called James, not Jambes.

Typographical syntax, also known as orthotypography, is the aspect of typography that defines the meaning and rightful usage of typographic signs, notably punctuation marks, and elements of layout such as flush margins and indentation.

Orthotypographic rules vary broadly from language to language, from country to country, and even from publisher to publisher. As such, they are more often described as "conventions".

While some of those conventions have ease of understanding as a justification–for instance, specifying that low punctuation (commas, full stops, and ellipses) must be in the same typeface, weight, and style as the preceding text – many are probably arbitrary.

The rules dealing with quotation marks are a good example of this: which ones to use and how to nest them, how much whitespace to leave on both sides, and when to integrate them with other punctuation marks.

Each major publisher maintains a list of orthotypographic rules that they apply as part of their house style.

See also: Typographical error

clerical error, corrigendum, do amiss, erratum, error, failure, fault, faute, human error, literal, misapply, misapprehension, miscalculation, miscall, miscarriage, miscite, misconception, misconduct, miscount, misdeal, misemploy, misfield, misidentification, misjudgment, mismanage, misplay, misquotation, misquote, misread, misreport, miss, misspell, misstatement, mistake, misunderstanding, misuse, typo, typographical error