italic: Meaning and Definition of

i•tal•ic

Pronunciation: (i-tal'ik, ī-tal'-), [key]
— adj.
  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. (cap.) of or pertaining to Italy, esp. ancient Italy or its tribes.
—n.
  1. Often,italic type.
  2. (cap.) a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including ancient Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and modern Romance.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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