italic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈtælɪk/, /aɪˈtælɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin Italicus (“Italian”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek Ἰταλικός (Italikós),^[2][3][6] from Italia “Italy”.^[2][3][4][6] The printing type is so called because it was introduced in 1501 by Aldus Manutius, a printer of Venice.^[3][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of handwriting, the sloping Italian style (1571),^[3][7][4] and as the name of one of the classical orders of architecture (1563).^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

The term was applied to the sloping printing type from 1612.^[3][7][4] The noun italics for italic letters is from 1676,^[3][5] and the verb italicize from 1795.^[3] With a capital, the adjective means of ancient Italy or its peoples (1685),^[7][4] and it names the branch of Indo-European that includes Latin, Oscan and Umbrian.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• 1563 – the Composite order of architecture.^[7]
• 1571 – italic handwriting.^[3][7]
• 1612 – italic printing type.^[3][7]
• 1676 – noun, italics.^[3][5]
• 1685 – of ancient Italy.^[7]
• 1795 – italicize.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of or being a style of type with letters that slant to the right, modelled on a Renaissance script.
2. Of a style of slanted cursive handwriting developed in the 15th and 16th centuries.
3. (capitalized) Of ancient Italy or its peoples or cultures.
4. (capitalized) Of the Italic languages.

Noun

1. Italic type or print, usually in the plural.
2. (capitalized) A branch of the Indo-European family including Latin, Oscan and Umbrian.

Word family

• italicise
• italicism
• italicize

Related words

• Italian
• Italy
• roman
• Aldine

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press