I·tal·ic  ( ĭ-t ăl ĭk, ī-t ăl -)
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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. often italics Italic print or typeface.
[Latin Italicus, from Italia, Italy.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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