italic
[ ih-tal-ik, ahy-tal- ]
/ ɪˈtæl ɪk, aɪˈtæl- /
adjective
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.
(initial capital letter)
of or relating to Italy, especially ancient Italy or its tribes.
noun
Often italics.
italic type.
(initial capital letter)
a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including ancient Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and modern Romance.
Origin of italic
OTHER WORDS FROM italic
non-I·tal·ic, adjective, nounWords nearby italic
italianate,
italianism,
italianist,
italianize,
italianizer,
italic,
italicism,
italicize,
italics,
italo-,
italophile
Example sentences from the Web for italics
British Dictionary definitions for italics (1 of 2)
Italic
/ (ɪˈtælɪk) /
noun
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
denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages, esp the extinct ones
British Dictionary definitions for italics (2 of 2)
italic
/ (ɪˈtælɪk) /
adjective
Also: Italian
of, relating to, or denoting a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
noun
a style of printing type modelled on this, chiefly used to indicate emphasis, a foreign word, etc
Compare roman 1
(often plural)
italic type or print
Word Origin for italic
C16 (after an edition of Virgil (1501) printed in Venice and dedicated to Italy): from Latin
Italicus of Italy, from Greek
Italikos
Cultural definitions for italics
italics
Slanted letters that look like this: We the people. Italics are most often used to emphasize certain words, to indicate that they are in a foreign language, or to set off the title of a literary or artistic work.