In metal typesetting, a font was a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font was a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph, and a typeface consisting of a range of fonts that shared an overall design.
In modern usage, with the advent of desktop publishing, "font" has come to be used as a synonym for "typeface" although a typical typeface (or 'font family') consists of a number of fonts. For instance, the typeface "Bauer Bodoni" includes fonts "Regular", "Bold", "Italic" and Italic Bold and each of these exists in a variety of sizes. The term "font" is correctly applied to any one of these alone but may be seen used loosely to refer to the whole typeface. When used in computers, each style is in a separate digital "font file".
In both traditional typesetting and modern usage, the word "font" refers to the delivery mechanism of the typeface. In traditional typesetting, the font would be made from metal or wood: to compose a page may require multiple fonts or even multiple typefaces.