Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Italics"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
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