What does Lorem Ipsum mean, and why is it used?
You’ve seen these semi-magical words before: “Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet.” But what do they mean?
Lorem Ipsum is a dummy text used in printing and typesetting. In the old days, when all text was set by hand, the Lorem Ipsum passage would have been used to fill in the blank spaces before printing. It’s a model of data that is known — the words don’t even mean anything!
In modern times, however, it has become popular for web designers and graphic artists to use dummy text while designing pages so that they can get an idea of how the finished product will look. Lorem Ipsum is also a great way to test out different fonts and layouts without having to use any real text.
What does Lorem Ipsum mean?
The full traditional “lipsum” passage reads as follows:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
It’s important to note that the passage isn’t all Latin. Why not? The goal of Lorem Ipsum text is to be able to use it as placeholder text without readers being distracted by the content. It’s not just random gibberish, though; there are words in here that could be found in a standard Latin dictionary — the point is that they wouldn’t have been used in the same context together.
So, in one sense, Lorem Ipsum literally means nothing. However, it does have some elements of Latin in it. Some sources in the early 20th century believed the original text (translated into English) to read as follows:
Nor is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure.
What’s the original source of Lorem Ipsum?
No one knows for sure. Lorem Ipsum has been around for centuries, and there are several different versions of the text floating around. Some say it was created by a group of Roman copywriters, while others attribute it to an unknown printer in the 1500s. Whoever came up with it, we can be grateful that they did. Lorem Ipsum is a great way to fill in text boxes and see how different fonts and layouts look, without having to use any real content. Plus, it’s just fun to say!
How to generate Lorem Ipsum today
There are several online generators that will create Lorem Ipsum for you. Just type in the words you want to use and hit “Generate.” You can also choose different fonts, sizes, and layouts. Some examples of websites include:
Try them out for yourself and see which ones you like best. Happy writing! 🙂