The i element represents a span of text in an alternate voice or mood, or otherwise offset from the normal prose in a manner indicating a different quality of text, such as a taxonomic designation, a technical term, an idiomatic phrase from another language, transliteration, a thought, or a ship name in Western texts.
Historically, the i element was used for presentation and browsers display it in italics. However, even though some browsers continue to display it in italics as a fallback, the i element should not be used for presentational purposes as it does not necessarily mean the text will be in italics.
The i element has semantic meaning and the usage depends on the situation and the surrounding text. MDN Web Docs has a great example:
An example for <i> could be: "The Queen Mary sailed last night". Here, there is no added emphasis or importance on the word "Queen Mary". It is merely indicated that the object in question is not a queen named Mary, but a ship named Queen Mary.
The Idiomatic Text element
The HTML
ielement is named the Idiomatic Text element on MDN Web Docs.The HTML specifications defines the
ielement as:Historically, the
ielement was used for presentation and browsers display it in italics. However, even though some browsers continue to display it in italics as a fallback, theielement should not be used for presentational purposes as it does not necessarily mean the text will be in italics.The
ielement has semantic meaning and the usage depends on the situation and the surrounding text. MDN Web Docs has a great example: