Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

italic

/ɪˈtælɪk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.73 in modern English

Syllables: ital-ic
IPA: /ɪˈtælɪk/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.

adj

Having letters that slant or lean to the right; oblique.

noun

A typeface in which the letters slant to the right.

noun

An oblique handwriting style, such as used by Italian calligraphers of the Renaissance.

adj

Of or relating to the Italian peninsula.

adj

Pertaining to a subfamily of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family, that includes Latin and other languages (as Oscan, Umbrian) spoken by the peoples of ancient Italy

adj

Pertaining to a subfamily of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family, that includes Latin and other languages (as Oscan, Umbrian) spoken by the peoples of ancient Italy

Dated

adj

Pertaining to various peoples that lived in Italy before the establishment of the Roman Empire, or to any of several alphabet systems used by those peoples.

Example Sentences

"The text was impossible to read: every other word was underlined or in a bold or italic font."
"Names of vessels, as the Kearsarge or the Alabama, are frequently put in italic."
"[…] ROBERT GRANJON, possibly in collaboration with CLAUDE GARAMOND, had created an italic which matched Garamond Roman."
"Spenser uses two different scripts: an Elizabethan secretary hand for English texts, and an italic 'mixed' with secretary graphs for Latin texts […]"
"The ancient Italic languages that are now extinct include Oscan, Umbrian, and South Picene."
"There were several Italic alphabets, one being the Etruscan alphabet."

Etymology

Named after the nation of Italy, as it was first used by an Italian printer, Aldo Manuzio, around 1500. Literally Italy + -ic.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: Italy

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪˈtælɪk/
British English: /ɪˈtælɪk/

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

italick (alternative) italics (plural)

Derived Forms

italicise italicism italicization italicize italics nonitalic

Phrases

Gallo-Italic Proto-Italic

Frequently Paired Words

roman boldface Italian Italic italical italics

Synonyms

Osco-Umbrian Sabellic Sabellian cursive oblique italic language

Antonyms

upright

Rhymes With

metallic alec malik gallic phallic malick halleck mallick anencephalic gallick fralick galik

Questions

How do you pronounce italic?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪˈtælɪk/.
What does italic mean?: Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
Where does italic come from?: Named after the nation of Italy, as it was first used by an Italian printer, Aldo Manuzio, around 1500. Literally Italy + -ic.

How to pronounce italic

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “italic”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪˈtælɪk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “italic”.
Repeat and practice — Say “italic” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.