type: [15] The etymological notion underlying the word type is of making an impression by ‘striking’. It comes via Latin typus from Greek túpos ‘blow, impression’, a derivative of túptein ‘hit’. In post-classical Latin the meaning ‘form, sort’ evolved (in much the same way as it did in the case of stamp). The more concrete metaphorical attachment to ‘making a mark by stamping’ had already been made in the classical period, and this eventually led in the 18th century to the use of English type for a ‘printing block with a letter on it’.
