italic

Noun · Adjective
US[ahy-tal-ik]/aɪˈtælɪk/3 syllables
Synonyms: Italic language

Open English WordNet

Noun (3)italics

  1. a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the rightType of longhand, running hand
  2. a branch of the Indo-European languages of which Latin is the chief representativeSynonyms: Italic languageType of Indo-European, Indo-European languageKinds Latin, Umbrian, Oscan, Sabellian
  3. a typeface with letters slanting upward to the rightType of font, fount

Adjective (2)

  1. of or relating to the Italic languages“ancient Italic dialects”
  2. characterized by slanting characters“italic characters”

Related words italicise verb, italicize verb

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

I·tal′ic adjective

Origin: L. Italicus: cf. F. italique. Cf. Italian.

1. Relating to Italy or to its people.

2. Applied especially to a kind of type in which the letters do not stand upright, but slope toward the right; — so called because dedicated to the States of Italy by the inventor, Aldus Manutius, about the year 1500.

Italic languages, the group or family of languages of ancient Italy. — Italic order Architecture, the composite order. See Composite. — Italic school, a term given to the Pythagorean and Eleatic philosophers, from the country where their doctrines were first promulgated. — Italic version. See Itala.

I·tal′ic noun; pl. Italics (…).

Printing An Italic letter, character, or type (see Italic, adjective, 2.); — often in the plural; as, the Italics are the author's. Italic letters are used to distinguish words for emphasis, importance, antithesis, etc. Also, collectively, Italic letters.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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