diff --git a/terminal.c b/terminal.c
index dd92cd67..e517253b 100644
--- a/terminal.c
+++ b/terminal.c
@@ -2190,9 +2190,17 @@ term_font_baseline(const struct terminal *term)
     const struct fcft_font *font = term->fonts[0];
     const int line_height = term->cell_height;
     const int font_height = font->ascent + font->descent;
-    const int glyph_top_y = round((line_height - font_height) / 2.);
 
-    return term->font_y_ofs + glyph_top_y + font->ascent;
+    /*
+     * Center glyph on the line *if* using a custom line height,
+     * otherwise the baseline is simply 'descent' pixels above the
+     * bottom of the cell
+     */
+    const int glyph_top_y = term->font_line_height.px >= 0
+        ? round((line_height - font_height) / 2.)
+        : 0;
+
+    return term->font_y_ofs + line_height - glyph_top_y - font->descent;
 }
 
 void