"complete set of characters of a particular face and size of printing type," 1680s (also fount); earlier "a casting" (1570s); from Middle French fonte "a casting," noun use of fem. past participle of fondre "to melt," from Latin fundere (past participle fusus) "to melt, cast, pour out," from nasalized form of PIE root *gheu- "to pour." So called because all the letters in a given set were cast at the same time.