Italics

[ih-tal-ik, ahy-tal-] /ɪˈtæl ɪk, aɪˈtæl-/

adjective
1.
designating or pertaining to a style of printing types in which the letters usually slope to the right, patterned upon a compact manuscript hand, and used for emphasis, to separate different kinds of information, etc.:
These words are in italic type.
2.
(initial capital letter) of or relating to Italy, especially ancient Italy or its tribes.
noun
3.
Often, italics. italic type.
4.
(initial capital letter) a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including ancient Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and modern Romance.
/ɪˈtælɪk/
adjective
1.
Also Italian. of, relating to, or denoting a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
noun
2.
a style of printing type modelled on this, chiefly used to indicate emphasis, a foreign word, etc Compare roman1
3.
(often pl) italic type or print
/ɪˈtælɪk/
noun
1.
a branch of the Indo-European family of languages that includes many of the ancient languages of Italy, such as Venetic and the Osco-Umbrian group, Latin, which displaced them, and the Romance languages
adjective
2.
denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages, esp the extinct ones

1610s (adj.), 1670s (n.) “italic type,” from Latin italicus “Italian” (see Italian); so called because it was introduced in 1501 by Aldus Manutius, printer of Venice (who also gave his name to Aldine), and first used in an edition of Virgil dedicated to Italy. Earlier (1570s) the word was used for the plain, sloping style of handwriting, as opposed to Gothic. Related: Italics.

Slanted letters that look like this: We the people. Italics are most often used to emphasize certain words, to indicate that they are in a foreign language, or to set off the title of a literary or artistic work.