Meaning

noun a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right

noun a branch of the Indo-European languages of which Latin is the chief representative

noun a typeface with letters slanting upward to the right

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0