Answer: Twip

When it comes to designing elements of a graphical user interface (GUI) or even a simple static image that will be shown on different displays of varying physical sizes and resolutions, you run into a problem. You can’t specify that an element of a GUI is, say, “120 pixels wide” and have that element stay consistent across different displays because pixels are display dependent. You can, for example, have a 1080p monitor with an 18″ diagonal, yet also have a 1080p television with a 65″ diagonal.

Enter the twip. Originally a typographical term, a twip is defined as a unit of measurement that is 1/20 of a typographical point or, converted to a more recognizable imperial measurement, 1/1440 of an inch. Thus, if a designer was working with a system that supported twips and they strongly desired to have an element of the display remain exactly 4 inches wide (regardless of the size of the display itself and the display’s pixel density), they could specify that the display element be 5,760 twips wide (1,440 twips x 4 inches).