cursiva

Cursiva is a term used in several Romance languages to refer to two related but distinct concepts: cursive handwriting and italic type. In everyday language, cursiva usually denotes a flowing, connected hand style designed for speed, whereas in typography it commonly refers to italic type—letters slanted to the right and often derived from handwriting but not necessarily connected.

In handwriting, cursive developed in medieval and early modern Europe to speed writing and improve legibility on manuscripts. Variants of cursive circulated across regions, producing different forms of letter shapes and connections. In printing, italic type emerged in 16th-century Italy, created by the Aldine press to resemble elegant handwriting while saving space. The first italics were designed by Francesco Griffo for Aldus Manutius and quickly became a standard feature of many typefaces, used for emphasis and for distinguishing foreign words, titles, and certain phrases.

Today, italics (cursiva) are widely used to emphasize text, denote book and film titles, foreign terms, or technical words, and to convey tone. Cursive handwriting remains a pedagogical term for the script taught to children, though its relative importance and prevalence have declined in some education systems due to the rise of print-focused literacy.

Differences between the senses can vary by language. Some languages call the handwritten style cursiva and the printed, slanted style itálica or cursiva interchangeably; others reserve cursiva for handwriting and use itálica for italic type. Etymology traces to Latin cursivus “running,” from currere “to run.”