italic

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Of or pertaining to ancient Italy or the tribes, including the Romans, which inhabited it, or to their languages.
2. Of or pertaining to modern Italy.
3. Specifically— In architecture, same as Composite, 3.
4. [lowercase or cap.) Of Italian origin: designating a style of printingtypes the lines of which slope toward the right (thus, italic), used for emphasis and other distinctive purposes. The italic character was first made and shown in type by Aldus Manutius, a notable printer of Venice, in an edition of Virgil, 1501, and by him dedicated to Italy. The first italic had upright capitals, but later French type-founders inclined them to the same angle as the small letters. In manuscript italic is indicated by underscoring the words with a single line.
5. n. In printing, an italic letter or type: usually in the plural: as, this is to be printed in italics. Abbreviated ital.

Wiktionary

1. adj. typography, of a typeface or font Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
2. adj. typography, of a typeface or font Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.
3. n. typography A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.
4. n. An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Relating to Italy or to its people.
2. adj. 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.
3. n. (Print.) An Italic letter, character, or type (see italic, a., 2.); -- often in the plural. Italic letters are used to distinguish words for emphasis, importance, antithesis, etc. Also, collectively, Italic letters.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. of or relating to the Italic languages
2. n. a typeface with letters slanting upward to the right
3. n. a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
4. adj. characterized by slanting characters
5. n. a branch of the Indo-European languages of which Latin is the chief representative