Lorem ipsum

: "For the Wikipedia template, see In publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum is common placeholder text used to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout. It is a form of "greeking".

Even though using "lorem ipsum" often arouses curiosity due to its resemblance to classical Latin, it is not intended to have meaning. Where text is visible in a document, people tend to focus on the textual content rather than upon overall presentation, so publishers use "lorem ipsum" when displaying a typeface or design in order to direct the focus to presentation. "Lorem ipsum" also approximates a typical distribution of spaces in EnglishFact|date=August 2008.

The most common "lorem ipsum" text reads as follows:

:"Lorem ipsum"

History and discovery

The text is derived from Cicero's "De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" ("On the Ends of Goods and Evils", or alternatively " [About] The Purposes of Good and Evil" ).cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/114222/en-us|title=Description of the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" text that appears in Word Help|accessdate=2007-03-22|format=HTML|publisher=Microsoft] The original passage began: "Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit" (Translation: "Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"). It is not known exactly when the text acquired its current standard form; it may have been as late as the 1960s. The passage was discovered by Richard McClintock, a Latin scholar who is the publications director at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, by searching for citings of the rarely used word 'consectetur' in classical literature.

The original version (with the excerpted items highlighted):

: [32] Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit, amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur? [33] At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.

English translation

Cicero's original text::…neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" "

H. Rackham's 1914 translation::Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?

Variations

There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have been altered in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don't follow the conventions of common language. If one is going to use a passage of Lorem Ipsum, it is proper to be sure there is not anything "hidden" in the middle of the text.

Many variations on the standard "lorem ipsum" text exist, some with little resemblance to the original. Other versions have additional letters — such as "k", "w", and "z" — that were uncommon or missing in the Latin language, and nonsense words such as "Z.zril", "takimata", and "gubergren" added to the original passage to achieve a distribution of letters that more closely approximates English.

Cicero's first Oration against Catiline is sometimes used in type specimens: "Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quamdiu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? . . ."

Today's popular version of "lorem ipsum" was first created for Aldus Corporation's first desktop publishing program Aldus PageMaker in the mid-1980s for the Apple Macintosh. Art director Laura Perry adapted older forms of the "lorem" text from typography samples. The text was frequently used in PageMaker templates.

Various pieces of software, including text editors (or plug-in modules for same), can generate semi-random "lorem text" that often has little or nothing in common with the canonical variety, other than looking like (and often being) jumbled Latin. Apple's Pages software uses this jumbled text as a sample screenplay for their screenplay layout.

ee also

* Greeking
* List of Latin phrases
* Li Europan lingues
* Etaoin shrdlu
* The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
* Metasyntactic variable

References

External links

* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010216.html The Straight Dope] — Cecil Adams' explanation of Lorem ipsum.