"Ragguled" is a term commonly used in the realm of typography, specifically referring to the characteristic appearance of a certain typeface or letterform. Typically pronounced as "rag-yuhld," it originated from the word "ragged" and encapsulates the visual effect of irregular or jagged edges of a specific glyph or text block.
In typography, when a line of text is aligned on one side, such as the left margin, the opposite side usually results in a varied and uneven margin, leading to a ragguled appearance. This irregularity can occur due to numerous factors, including the varying widths of characters, punctuation marks, or even hyphenation. It is particularly noticeable in justified text, where the spaces between words can be stretched or compressed to fill the line width, thus adding to the unevenness of the margins.
The term "ragguled" encapsulates both the aesthetic quality and the practical implications of this irregular margin in typography. It can be a deliberate design choice in certain contexts, giving a text a more casual, handcrafted, or even artistic feel. However, in some cases, maintaining consistent margins throughout a document or design is preferred for readability and a more formal appearance.
Overall, "ragguled" is a typographical term that describes the irregular or jagged appearance of a text's margin or line, resulting from uneven spacing and alignment of characters.
