# Typography: Are there words for the different parts of a footnote?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 7, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737 "2023-09-07T14:48:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737/1 "2023-09-07T14:48:54Z")

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You know, the footnote in the sense of the little superscript number that appears inside the main text of the page, as opposed to the text of the footnote that appears at the bottom of the page to which the aforementioned number refers. I’ve seen both of them called, simply, “footnote”. But suppose I wanted to draw a precise distinction between the two. Are there unambiguous words in typography for them?

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**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737/2 "2023-09-07T14:53:11Z")

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I have always thought of the superscript number in the main text as the “footnote call”. And the text at the foot was the footnote.

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**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737/3 "2023-09-07T14:53:44Z")

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Footnote/endote [numbers](https://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/referencing/page_08.htm#:~:text=Footnote%20or%20endnote%20numbers%20in,appears%20first%20in%20the%20text.), according to the University of Bristol.

> Footnote or endnote numbers in the text should follow punctuation, and preferably be placed at the end of a sentence.

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typography-are-there-words-for-the-different-parts-of-a-footnote/989737/4 "2023-09-07T15:11:35Z")

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Not always a number (or single number), you could call it a footnote mark or marker; see for instance [https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/macros/latex/contrib/eledmac/eledmac.pdf](https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/macros/latex/contrib/eledmac/eledmac.pdf) , beginning of section 11.