Comment by tribby

a variable font is a more generic term than a metafont. it’s a bit pedantic but while both have parameters, a metafont is usually parametrically generated based on its concept of a pen, whereas a variable font usually has different parameters that have been defined by manual bezier drawings. I don’t remember if metafont itself can produce a variable font but people have used metapost to go to SVG and then UFO (font source) from there