italic

[ ih-tal-ik, ahy-tal- ]

adjective

1. designating or pertaining to a style of printing types in which the letters usually slope to the right, patterned upon a compact manuscript hand, and used for emphasis, to separate different kinds of information, etc.:

   These words are in italic type.

2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to Italy, especially ancient Italy or its tribes.

noun

1. Often italics. italic type.
2. (initial capital letter) a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including ancient Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and modern Romance.

Italic

¹

/ ɪˈtælɪk /

noun

1. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages that includes many of the ancient languages of Italy, such as Venetic and the Osco-Umbrian group, Latin, which displaced them, and the Romance languages

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages, esp the extinct ones

italic

²

/ ɪˈtælɪk /

adjective

1. AlsoItalian of, relating to, or denoting a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right

noun

1. a style of printing type modelled on this, chiefly used to indicate emphasis, a foreign word, etc Compare roman 1
2. often plural italic type or print

Other Words From

• non-I·talic adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of italic¹

1555–65; < Latin Italicus < Greek Italikós, equivalent to Ital ( ía ) Italy + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of italic¹

C16 (after an edition of Virgil (1501) printed in Venice and dedicated to Italy): from Latin Italicus of Italy, from Greek Italikos

Example Sentences

I then commenced and continued copying the Italics in Webster’s Spelling Book, until I could make them all without looking on the book.

From Literature

The applique likely decorated an Etruscan chariot or funeral cart during the period when Greek and Italic aesthetics merged to create the Etruscan style.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than a showdown with Julius Caesar, it involves the resolute Gauls meeting a tribe called the Italics who are also fighting to remain independent from Rome.

From Reuters

Italic reflected an early way to increase the efficiency of scribes by connecting the letters and lessening the number of times the writer had to lift pen from page.

From Washington Times

The writer is chairman of the Italic Institute of America.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• font