is derived from the Greek nu and the Semetic nun. In ancient Phoenician “nun” was the word for fish. Like M, the strokes of N were first uneven. Though its shape has changed a little, the sound of N — a voiced nasal consonant — has not. Also like M, N was rounded in uncial scripts, even though it was not used until after 800 AD.    
  manual alphabet, sign language alphabet, N NEGATIVE LEADING:     Leading — or line space — smaller than the body size. Type set 16/14, for example, is set with negative leading.  


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