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italics

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i⋅tal⋅ic

  [i-tal-ik, ahy-tal-]
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–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 pertaining to Italy, esp. ancient Italy or its tribes.
–noun
3. Often, italics. italic type.
4. (initial capital letter) a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including ancient Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and modern Romance.
Origin:
1555–65; < L Italicus < Gk Italikós, equiv. to Ital(ía) Italy + -ikos -ic
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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I·tal·ic   (ĭ-tāl'ĭk, ī-tāl'-)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to ancient Italy or its peoples or cultures.

  2. Of or relating to the branch of the Indo-European language family that includes Latin, Faliscan, Oscan, Umbrian, and the Romance languages.

  3. italic Of or being a style of printing type patterned on a Renaissance script with the letters slanting to the right: This sentence is printed in italic type.

n.  

  1. The Italic branch of Indo-European.

  2. Italic print or typeface. Often used in the plural.


[Latin Italicus, from Italia, Italy.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

italic 
1612, from L. italicus "Italian;" so called because it was introduced in 1501 by Aldus Manutius, printer of Venice (who also gave his name to Aldine), and first used in an edition of Virgil dedicated to Italy. Earlier (1571) the word was used for the plain, sloping style of handwriting, as opposed to Gothic. Italicize "to print in italics" (for emphasis, etc.) is from 1795.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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