italics
UK[ɪˈtælɪks]US[ɪˈtælɪks]
plural noun
A style of printing in which the letters slope to the right.
Etymology
The word 'italics' originates from the Latin phrase 'litterae Italicae', meaning 'Italian letters'. This name was given because the sloping typeface was first introduced in 1501 by the Venetian printer Aldus Manutius, who based it on the handwriting style of Italian Renaissance humanists. The design was intended to mimic the elegant, cursive script used in manuscripts, allowing for a compact and aesthetically pleasing printed page. Over time, the term evolved from referring specifically to the Italian style to denoting the sloping typeface itself, used for emphasis, titles, or foreign words in modern typography.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from Latin, adopted as a whole into English. It does not contain separable, productive morphemes within its modern English spelling.
Examples
The title of the book was printed in italics.
For emphasis, she suggested putting the key term in italics.
Scientific names of species are conventionally written in italics.