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I·tal·ic

(ĭ-tălĭk, ī-tăl-)

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.

1. The Italic branch of Indo-European.

2. often italics Italic print or typeface.

[Latin Italicus, from Italia, Italy.]

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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