a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
<noun.communication>
a branch of the Indo-European languages of which Latin is the chief representative
<noun.communication>
a typeface with letters slanting upward to the right
<noun.communication> [ adj ]
characterized by slanting characters
<adj.pert> italic characters
of or relating to the Italic languages
<adj.pert> ancient Italic dialects
Composite \Com*pos"ite\ (?; 277), a. [L. compositus made up of parts, p. p. of componere. See {Compound}, v. t., and cf. {Compost}.] 1. Made up of distinct parts or elements; compounded; as, a composite language.
Happiness, like air and water . . . is composite. --Landor.
2. (Arch.) Belonging to a certain order which is composed of the Ionic order grafted upon the Corinthian. It is called also the {Roman} or the {Italic} order, and is one of the five orders recognized by the Italian writers of the sixteenth century. See {Capital}.
3. (Bot.) Belonging to the order {Composit[ae]}; bearing involucrate heads of many small florets, as the daisy, thistle, and dandelion.
{Composite carriage}, a railroad car having compartments of different classes. [Eng.]
{Composite number} (Math.), one which can be divided exactly by a number exceeding unity, as 6 by 2 or 3..
{Composite photograph} or {Composite portrait}, one made by a combination, or blending, of several distinct photographs. --F. Galton.
{Composite sailing} (Naut.), a combination of parallel and great circle sailing.
{Composite ship}, one with a wooden casing and iron frame.
Italic \I*tal"ic\, a. [L. Italicus: cf. F. italique. Cf. {Italian}.] 1. Relating to Italy or to its people.
2. Applied especially to a kind of type in which the letters do not stand upright, but slope toward the right; -- so called because dedicated to the States of Italy by the inventor, Aldus Manutius, about the year 1500.
{Italic languages}, the group or family of languages of ancient Italy.
{Italic order} (Arch.), the composite order. See {Composite}.
{Italic school}, a term given to the Pythagorean and Eleatic philosophers, from the country where their doctrines were first promulgated.
{Italic version}. See {Itala}.
Italic \I*tal"ic\, n.; pl. {Italics}. (Print.) An Italic letter, character, or type (see {Italic}, a., 2.); -- often in the plural; as, the Italics are the author's. Italic letters are used to distinguish words for emphasis, importance, antithesis, etc. Also, collectively, Italic letters.