Lorem ipsum is a standard placeholder or “dummy” text used across graphic design, publishing, and web development to preview layouts and typography. Its primary purpose is to provide a natural-looking distribution of letters and words so that designers and clients can focus on visual elements without being distracted by readable content.
Key Facts About Lorem Ipsum
- The Origin: The text is a corrupted, scrambled version of De finibus bonorum et malorum (“On the Ends of Good and Evil”), a 1st-century BC philosophical treatise on ethics written by the Roman statesman Cicero.
- The Meaning: Because the original Latin text has been intentionally altered, added to, and stripped of letters, it is completely nonsensical and has no actual translation.
- The First Words: “Lorem ipsum” itself is a truncation of the Latin words dolorem ipsum, which translates roughly to “pain itself”.
- Modern Discovery: While it was popularized in the 1960s by transfer sheets, a Latin scholar named Richard McClintock discovered its exact historic roots in the 1990s by tracking down the rare Latin word consectetur.