Editing Ordinal indicator (section)

==Design==
{{See also|Superior letters}}
[[File:Ordinal & degree.png|thumb|Comparison between the ordinal indicator (left) and the degree sign (right), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
The masculine ordinal indicator {{char|º}} may be confused with the [[degree sign]] {{char|°}} (U+00B0), which looks very similar and which is provided on the [[QWERTY#Italian|Italian]] and [[QWERTY#Latin America, officially known as Spanish Latinamerican sort|Latin American keyboard layouts]]. It was common in the early days of computers to use the same character for both.{{cn|date=June 2020}} The degree sign is a uniform circle and is never underlined. The masculine ordinal indicator is the shape of a lower-case letter {{char|o}}, and thus may be [[oval]] or [[Ellipse|elliptical]], and may have a varying line thickness.

Ordinal indicators may also be underlined. It is not mandatory in [[Portugal]]<ref>[https://ciberduvidas.iscte-iul.pt/consultorio/perguntas/sobrescritos-sublinhados-em-ordinais/32251 Sobrescritos sublinhados em ordinais], Ciberdúvisas da língua portuguesa</ref> nor in [[Brazil]],<ref>[https://www.abreviar.com.br/numero/ Abreviatura da Palavra Número], Abreviar.com.br</ref><ref>[https://museulinguaportuguesa.org.br/numerais-ordinais/ Numerais ordinais], Museu Língua Portuguesa</ref><ref>[https://www.todoestudo.com.br/portugues/numerais-ordinais Numerais ordinais], Todo Estudo</ref> but it is preferred in some fonts to avoid confusion with the degree sign.<ref name="mstyp" />

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[[File:Ordinal alignment.png|thumb|Alignment of the ordinal indicator (left) and superscript characters (right), in the Portuguese abbreviation {{lang|pt|1.º E.<sup>do</sup>}} (1st floor left), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
Also, the ordinal indicators should be distinguishable from superscript characters. The top of the ordinal indicators (i.e., the top of the elevated letter {{char|a}} and letter {{char|o}}) must be aligned<ref name="mstyp" /> with the [[cap height]] of the font. The alignment of the top of superscripted letters {{char|a}} and {{char|o}} will depend on the font.

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[[File:False & true superscripts.png|thumb|Comparison between ordinal indicator and superscript markup (left) and superscript characters (U+1D48 and U+1D52) (right), in the Portuguese abbreviation {{lang|pt|1.º E.<sup>do</sup>}} (1st floor left), in a monotone font and in a variable stroke width font.]]
The line thickness of the ordinal indicators is always proportional to the line thickness of the other characters of the font. Many fonts just shrink the characters (making them thinner) to draw superscripts.
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