What is "alexa"

Alexa may refer to:

• Alexa (genus), a genus of legumes
• Alexa (name), a given name
• Alexa (typeface), a typeface
• Alexa Fluor, a family of fluorescent dyes
• Alexa Internet, a subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides web traffic analysis
• Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera
• 2013 Middle East cold snap, also referred to as Alexa
• Amazon Echo, responding to the default name Alexa

Alexa is a typeface. It was designed for Adobe Systems in 1995 by John Benson, a United States carver of inscriptions, including those at the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Benson modeled the friendly, casual script after his own handwriting and named it after his niece. Although based on the cancelleresca style of 16th-century Italian writing masters, Alexa has no swash terminals or ligatures. The absence of these features and its pronounced slope give this typeface a distinctly modern look for lively lines and pages. One can use Alexa for both text and display sizes.

Alexa is a female form of Alexander, and is sometimes also a short form of Alexandra, both of which come from the Greek, Alexandros. It can be broken down into alexo meaning "to defend" and ander, meaning "man"' making both Alexa and Alexander mean defender of man.

Alexa is a genus of legumes.