Page footer

In typography and word processing, the page footer (or simply footer) of a printed page is a section located under the main text, or body. It is typically used as the space for the page number. In the earliest printed books also it contained the first words of the next page; in this case they preferred to place the page number in the page header, in the top margin. Because of the lack of a set standard, in modern times the header and footer are sometimes interchangeable. In some instances, there are elements of the header inserted into the footer, such as the book or chapter title, the name of the author or other information. In the publishing industry the page footer is traditionally known as the running foot, whereas the page header is the running head.

"Running foot" redirects here. For other uses, see running and foot.

Etymology

Likely starting from the concept of foot or feet, first recorded 1300, the portion of human anatomy at the base of the human form. Then transitioning circa 1600 into the concept of a footer, or a pedestrian. However, by the time of the 18th century, the usages and definitions around the concept had changed significantly, often implying a lack of value or contempt for the commoner, or that all they do is copulate and have no other value. Varying references include, the mid 18th century variant of the obsolete fouter ('valueless thing, contemptible person'),[1] or the French phrase se foutre ("to care about nothing"), footle ("to trifle"), and footy ("mean, paltry"). The valueless sex references include the French futer ("to copulate with") and Latin futuere ("have sex with a woman"), or the Danish fugtig ("damp, musty") related to fog, yet implying a woman's damp "cave".[2] A plot of footer and its related words use over time from 1500 to 2020 can be seen below.

Footer and related words from 1500 - 2020

Most of these ideas are also related to the concept of footnotes, or ancillary pieces of information printed at the bottom of a page. This definition also moves towards a similar lack of value with "a thing that is additional or less important".[3]

The footer is also sometimes the space reserved for the notes, known as footnotes. These footnotes are distinguished from the notes placed at the end of a chapter or book. While in some cases the footer space is generally fixed, when footnotes are added, the space will increase or decrease based on the amount and length of the notes.

Desktop publishing

In desktop publishing applications, the footer identifies the space at the bottom of a page displayed on a computer or other device. Some software automatically inserts certain information in the footer, including the page number and the date and time of creation or editing the document, data which can be removed or changed. If desired, the user can add a logo or company name, the name of the author, title or other useful information (links, copyright, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) The footer is sometimes duplicated over all of the pages in the document, with the page number increasing accordingly. Similarly, this duplication is sometimes applied to the header.

Webpages

In HTML, the footer is a sectioning element, and if used is most often used for copyright information or author information. It is sometimes in a separate style to the rest of the webpage, achieved using CSS.[4]

  • Footer from a CD showing the manufacturer and publication date
  • Footer from a CD showing the publisher, musician, date, and type of recording
  • Footer from a dictionary showing the page number and other relevant pages
  • Footer from an art history book showing the page and section

References
  1. "Footer | Definition of Footer by Oxford Dictionary". Lexico. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  2. "footle - Origin and meaning of footle by Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  3. "Footnote". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  4. Mozilla Developer Network "<footer> - HTML"
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