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

Other features fit with what we know of Milton's neat italic hand, which rarely featured joined letters.

From Science Daily

Here’s a list of all nominees from the ceremony, with winners highlighted in bold italics.

From Seattle Times

The words and phrases that the plaintiffs replaced with their own tendentious language are in italics.

From Los Angeles Times

He was the first to print editions of Aristotle, Thucydides, Herodotus and Sophocles; the first to use italic type; and the first to use the semicolon in its modern sense.

From New York Times

Moving forward, handwriting instruction for grades 1 to 6 is to include writing “in cursive or joined italics in the appropriate grade levels,” the law states.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• font