Italicisations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of emphasizing text by rendering it in a slanted style to denote importance or distinction
2. A typographical process that alters the appearance of words to highlight them, often used in literature and coding
3. The technique of applying a slanted font to certain words or phrases to convey formality or stylistic emphasis

Etymology: Italic type was developed in Venice as a space-saving innovation. The printer Aldus Manutius commissioned the punchcutter Francesco Griffo to design a sloping letterform based on the cursive handwriting of Italian scribes, which let small, portable books hold more text per page. The style took its name from Italy, through Latin "Italicus" and "Italia." The term in front of us is a chain of additions built on that name. "Italic" serves as the adjective and noun, "italicise" is the verb for setting text in that style, and the suffix "-ation" turns it into a noun for the act or result. The "-ise" spelling is the British form, while American English usually writes "italicization."

Synonyms: emphases, highlightings, emphasizings, font stylings