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Webster 1913 Edition

Italic

I-tal′ic

,
Adj.
[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
(Arch.)
,
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
.
(Print.)
An Italic letter, character, or type (see
Italic
,
Adj.
, 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 1828 Edition

Italic

ITAL'IC

,
Adj.
Relating to Italy or its characters.

Definition 2024

Italic

Italic

See also: italic

English

Adjective

Italic ‎(not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to the Italian peninsula.
  2. (linguistics) Pertaining to a subfamily of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family, that includes Latin and other languages (as Oscan, Umbrian) spoken by the peoples of ancient Italy and also the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, etc.); the group of ancient languages of this branch as contrasted with the modern Romance languages; Osco-Umbrian
    The ancient Italic languages that are now extinct include Oscan, Umbrian, and South Picene.
  3. (ancient history) Pertaining to various peoples that lived in Italy before the establishment of the Roman Empire, or to any of several alphabet systems used by those peoples for writing their languages.
    There were several Italic alphabets, one being the Etruscan alphabet.

Translations

Proper noun

Italic

  1. An Italic language.

Translations

See also

italic

italic

See also: Italic

English

A true italic font (bottom).

Alternative forms

Adjective

italic ‎(not comparable)

  1. (typography, of a typeface or font) Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
  2. (typography, of a typeface or font) Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.
    The text was impossible to read: every other word was underlined or in a bold or italic font.

Usage notes

An oblique "italic" font.
  • The sense of “oblique” is more recent, and still sometimes criticized, but is now by far the more common sense in everyday use.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

italic ‎(plural italics)

Calligraphy in italic.
  1. (typography) A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.
    • 1902, Theodore Low DeVinne, The Practice of Typography: Correct Composition, page 104:
      Names of vessels, as the Kearsarge or the Alabama, are frequently put in italic.
    • 1983, Ida M. Kimber, The Art of Lettering, translation of original by Albert Kapr, page 329:
      […] ROBERT GRANJON, possibly in collaboration with CLAUDE GARAMOND, had created an italic which matched Garamond Roman.
  2. An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.
    • 1990, Albert Charles Hamilton, The Spenser Encyclopedia, ISBN 0802079237, page 345:
      Spenser uses two different scripts: an Elizabethan secretary hand for English texts, and an italic 'mixed' with secretary graphs for Latin texts […]

Translations

See also

Etymology

Via Latin from Ancient Greek Ἰταλικός ‎(Italikós), from Ἰταλία ‎(Italía, “Italy”).

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