First released on October 25, 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word, which was later simplified to Microsoft Word. Among hundreds of word processor available today, Ms Word is one of the most popular word processor. The font that appears to be selected by default in a new Ms Word document is the default font. The default font varies depending on the version of Microsoft Word.
Word default font and font size
In Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier, the default font is “Times New Roman” with font size of 12 pt.
However, in a later version of Microsoft Word, i.e. Ms Word 2007 and later, the default font was changed to “Calibri“ with font size of 11 pt. Microsoft.
If you prefer other fonts over Calibri, you can set it as the default font for Ms Word.
Why Microsoft changed from Times New Roman to Calibri
Fonts was designed to optimize print prior to the advent of computers.. Times New Roman was invented for newspapers. However, as computer become more and more accessible to public, it was clear that more and more document were distributed in digital format and will never be printed.
Developers at Microsoft Word around early 2000s, thought that they might get better result with fonts on screen that was specifically designed for screen. Looking at the available screen resolution and technology used to displays, ClearType Font collection which includes Calibri, Cambria, Constantia etc was developed. It is believed to improve the appearance of text on certain types of monitors through the use of sub-pixel rendering technology.
Times new roman, a type of Serif font has fine details in their font compared to Sans-Serif font like Calibri. These fine details make it beautiful for reading in print, but on-screen it may disappear or appear extra large deteriorating reading experience.
Since 2007, Calibri was adopted as default font for various Microsoft products including Windows, Office etc.
Conclusion
Default font in Ms Word was changed from Times New Roman (12 pt) to Caliri (11 pt) from Word 2007 due to its better on-screen display.