“Font,” just as it always had, would refer to the physical tool used to reproduce a typeface, which in the new, digital environment, was a digital file consisting of a set of scalable, vector-drawn glyphs encoded so as to correspond with particular user input in the form of keystrokes. The definition of typeface was (and is) unchanged: it is the design itself, in abstract, which can still be reproduced in any number of ways. The font is the tool used to reproduce the typeface, and while the particulars of the terminology are a bit different with digital and analog methods, the essential distinction between the two terms remains the same. When you pick a font from MS Word’s pulldown menu, you are selecting the file your computer will use to interpret and display your keystrokes. You are selecting the tool. The typeface exists outside of your computer as an intangible concept.

Brilliant answer by John Rushing on Quora. Read the entire answer here: qr.ae/7kGuPW