I – Illegibly

I

I is the ninth letter, and the third vowel of the English Alphabet. We receive it through the Latin and Greek from the Shemitic jod, je, or ye, in Greek iwra, whence our English word jot. The vowel in French, and in most European languages, has the long fine sound which we express by e in me, or ee in seen, meek. This sound we retain in some foreign words which are naturalized in our language, as in machine, intrigue. But in most English words this long sound is shortened, as in holiness, pity, gift; in which words the sound of i coincides with that of y in hypocrite, cycle, and at the end of words, in unaccented syllables, as in holy, glory. It is this short sound of the French and Italian i which we hear in the pronunciation of been, which we pronounce bin. After l, this letter has sometimes the liquid sound of y, as in million, pronounced milyon. This sound corresponds with that of the Hebrews, as in Joseph, which in Syria is pronounced Yoseph, and with the sound of the German j, as in ja, jahr, that is ya, yahr.

The sound of i long, as in fine, kind, arise, is diphthongal; it begins with a sound approaching that of broad a, but it is not exactly the same, as the organs are not opened to the same extent, and therefore the sound begins a little above that of aw. The sound, if continued, closes with one that nearly approaches to that of e long. This sound can be learned only by the ear. This letter enters into several digraphs, as in fail, field, seize, feign, vein, friend; and with o in oil, join, coin, it helps to form a proper diphthong.

No English word ends with i but when the sound of the letter occurs at the end of a word, it is expressed by y.

As a numeral i signifies one, and stands for as many units as it is repeated in times, as II, two, III, three, etc. When it stands before V or X, it subtracts itself, and the numerals denote one less than the V or the X. Thus IV expresses four, one less than V, five; IX stands for nine, one less than X, ten. But when it is placed after V or X, it denotes the addition of an unit, or as many units as the letter is repeated in times. Thus VI is five and one, or six, and XI is ten and one, or eleven; VIII stands for five and three, or eight, etc.

I, formerly prefixed to some English words, as in ibuilt, is a contraction of the Saxon prefix ge; and more generally this was written y.

I, pronoun [Latin ego.] The pronoun of the first person; the word which expresses one's self, or that by which a speaker or writer denotes himself. It is only the nominative case of the pronoun; in the other cases we use me. i am attached to study; study delights me. We often hear in popular language the phrase it is me, which is now considered to be ungrammatical, for it is i But the phrase may have come down to us from the use of the Welsh mi, or from the French use of the phrase, c'est moi.

In the plural, we use we, and us, which appear to be words radically distinct from i

Johnson observes that Shakespeare uses i for ay or yes. In this he is not followed, and the use is incorrect.

Iambic

IAM'BIC, noun [Latin imabicus; ] Pertaining to the iambus, a poetic foot consisting of two syllables, a short one followed by a long one.

IAM'BIC

Iambics

IAM'BICS, noun plural Verses composed of short and long syllables alternately. Anciently, certain songs or satires, supposed to have given birth to ancient comedy.

Iambus

IAM'BUS, noun [Latin iambus ] In poetry, a foot consisting of two syllables, the first short and the last long, as in delight. The following line, consists wholly of iambic feet.

He scorns the force that dares his fury stay.

Ibex

IBEX, noun [Latin] The wild goat of the genus Capra, which is said to be the stock of the tame goat. It has large knotty horns reclining on its back, is of a yellowish color, and its beard is black. It inhabits the Alps.

The Aegagras, or wild goat of the mountains of Persia, appears to be the stock of the tame goat. The ibex is a distinct species.

Ibis

IBIS, noun [Gr. and Latin ] A fowl of the genus Tantalus, and grallic order, a native of Egypt. The bill is long, subulated, and somewhat crooked; the face naked, and the feet have four toes palmated at the base. This fowl was much valued by the Egyptians for destroying serpents. It is said by Bruce not now to inhabit Egypt, but to be found in Abyssinia.

The ibis of the Egyptians is a species of the genus Scolopax. It was anciently venerated either because it devoured serpents, or because the marking of its plumage resembled one of the phases of the moon, or because it appeared in Egypt with the rising of the Nile.

The ibis is common in Egypt during the overflowing of the Nile.

Ic

OL'IGIST, 'IC, adjective [Gr. least.] Oligist iron, so called, is a crystallized tritoxyd of iron.

Icarian

ICA'RIAN, adjective [from Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who fled on wings to escape the resentment of Minos, but his flight being too high was fatal to him, as the sun melted the wax that cemented his wings.]

Adventurous in flight; soaring too high for safety, like Icarus.

Ice

ICE, noun

1. Water or other fluid congealed, or in a solid state; a solid, transparent, brittle substance, formed by the congelation of a fluid, by means of the abstraction of the heat necessary to preserve its fluidity, or to use language, congealed by cold.

2. Concreted sugar.

To break the ice is to make the first opening to any attempt; to remove the first obstructions or difficulties; to open the way.

ICE, verb transitive To cover with ice; to convert into ice

1. To cover with concreted sugar; to frost.

2. To chill; to freeze.

Iceberg

ICEBERG, noun [ice and a hill.] A hill or mountain of ice, or a vast body of ice accumulated in valleys in high northern latitudes.

This term is applied to such elevated masses as exist in the valleys of the frigid zones; to those which are found on the surface of fixed ice; and to ice of great thickness and highth in a floating state. These lofty floating masses are sometimes detached from the icebergs on shore, and sometimes formed at a distance from any land. They are found in both the frigid zones, and are sometimes carried towards the equator as low as 40 degrees.

Iceblink

ICEBLINK, noun A name given by seamen to a bright appearance near the horizon, occasioned by the ice, and observed before the ice itself is seen.

Iceboat

ICEBOAT, noun A boat constructed for moving on ice.

Icebound

ICEBOUND, adjective In seaman's language, totally surrounded with ice, so as to be incapable of advancing.

Icebuilt

ICEBUILT, adjective Composed of ice.

1. Loaded with ice.

Icehouse

ICEHOUSE, noun [ice and house.] A repository for the preservation of ice during warm weather; a pit with a drain for conveying off the water of the ice when dissolved, and usually covered with a roof.

Iceisle

ICEISLE, noun iceile. [ice and isle.] A vast body of floating ice, such as is often seen in the Atlantic, off the banks of Newfoundland.

Icelander

ICELANDER, noun A native of Iceland.

Icelandic

ICELAND'IC, adjective Pertaining to Iceland; and as a noun, the language of the Icelanders.

Iceland spar, calcarious spar, in laminated masses, easily divisible into rhombs, perfectly similar to the primitive rhomb.

Iceplant

ICEPLANT, noun A plant of the genus Mesembryanthemem, sprinkled with pellucid, glittering, icy pimples.

Icespar

ICESPAR, noun A variety of feldspar, the crystals of which resemble ice.

Ichneumon

ICHNEU'MON, noun [Latin from the Gr. to follow the steps, a footstep; a follower of the crocodile.]

An animal of the genus Viverra, or weasel kind. It has a tail tapering to a point, and its toes are distant from each other. It inhabits Egypt, Barbary and India. It destroys the most venomous serpents, and seeks the eggs of the crocodile, digging them out of the sand, eating them and destroying the young. In India and Egypt, this animal is domesticated and kept for destroying rats and mice.

Ichneumon-fly, a genus of flies, of the order of hymenopters, containing several hundred species. These animals have jaws, but no tongue; the antennae have more than thirty joints, and are kept in continual motion. The abdomen is generally petiolated, or joined to the body by a pedicle. These animals are great destroyers of caterpillars, plant-lice and other insects, as the ichneumon is of the eggs and young of the crocodile.

Ichnographic

ICHNOGRAPH'IC

ICHNOGRAPH'ICAL, adjective [See Ichnography.] Pertaining to ichnography; describing a ground- plot.

Ichnographical

ICHNOGRAPH'ICAL, a. [See Ichnography.] Pertaining to ichnography; describing a ground- plot.

Ichnography

ICHNOG'RAPHY, noun [Gr. a footstep, and to describe.] In perspective, the view of any thing cut off by a plane parallel to the horizon, just at the base of it, a ground-plot.

Ichor

I'CHOR, noun [Gr.] A thin watery humor, like serum or whey.

1. Sanious matter flowing from an ulcer.

Ichorous

I'CHOROUS, adjective Like ichor; thin; water; serous.

1. Sanious.

Ichthyocol

ICH'THYOCOL

ICHTHYOCOL'LA, noun [Gr. a fish, and glue.] Fish-glue; isinglass; a glue prepared from the sounds of fish.

Ichthyolite

ICH'THYOLITE, noun [Gr. a fish, and a stone.] Fossil fish; or the figure or impression of a fish in rock.

Ichthyological

ICHTHYOLOG'ICAL, adjective Pertaining to ichthyology.

Ichthyologist

ICHTHYOL'OGIST, noun [See Ichthyology.] One versed in ichthyology.

Ichthyology

ICHTHYOL'OGY, noun [Gr. a fish, and discourse.] The science of fishes, or that part of zoology which treats of fishes, their structure, form and classification, their habits, uses, etc.

Ichthyophagous

ICHTHYOPH'AGOUS, adjective [Gr. fish, and to eat.] Eating or subsisting on fish.

Ichthyophagy

ICHTHYOPH'AGY, noun [supra.] The practice of eating fish.

Ichthyophthalmite

ICHTHYOPHTHAL'MITE, noun [Gr. a fish, and an eye.] Fish-eyestone. [See Apophyllite.]

Icicle

I'CICLE, noun A pendent conical mass of ice, formed by the freezing of water or other fluid as it flows down an inclined plane, or collects in drops and is suspended. In the north of England, it is called ickle.

Iciness

I'CINESS, noun The state of being icy, or of being very cold.

1. The state of generating ice.

Icing

I'CING, participle present tense Covering with concreted sugar.

Icon

I'CON, noun [Gr. an image, to resemble.] An image or representation. [Not in use.]

Iconoclast

ICON'OCLAST, noun [Gr. an image, and a breaker, to break.] A breaker or destroyer of images; a name which Catholics give to those who reject the use of images in religious worship.

Iconoclastic

ICONOCLAS'TIC, adjective Breaking images.

Iconography

ICONOG'RAPHY, noun [Gr. an image, to describe.] The description of images or ancient statues, busts, semi-busts, paintings in fresco, mosaic works, and ancient pieces of miniature.

Iconolater

ICONOL'ATER, noun [Gr. an image, and a servant.] One that worships images; a name given to Romanists.

Iconology

ICONOL'OGY, noun [Gr. an image, and a discourse.] The doctrine of images or representations.

Icosahedral

ICOSAHE'DRAL, adjective [Gr. twenty, and seat, basis.] Having twenty equal sides.

Icosahedron

ICOSAHE'DRON, noun [supra.] A solid of twenty equal sides.

In geometry, a regular solid, consisting of twenty triangular pyramids, whose vertices meet in the center of a sphere supposed to circumscribe it, and therefore have their highths and bases equal.

Icosander

ICOSAN'DER, noun [Gr. twenty, and a male.] In botany, a plant having twenty or more stamens inserted in the calyx.

Note - A writer on botany has suggested that as the proper character of plants of this class is the insertion of the stamens in the calyx, it might be expedient to denominate the class, Calycandria.

Icosandrian

ICOSAN'DRIAN, noun Pertaining to the class of plants, Icosandria, having twenty or more stamens inserted in the calyx.

Icteric

IC'TERIC

ICTER'ICAL, adjective [Latin ictericus, from icterus, jaundice.] Affected with the jaundice.

1. Good in the cure of the jaundice.

IC'TERIC, noun A remedy for the jaundice.

Icterical

ICTER'ICAL, a. [L. ictericus, from icterus, jaundice.] Affected with the jaundice. 1. Good in the cure of the jaundice.

Icteritious

ICTERI'TIOUS, adjective [Latin icterus, jaundice.] Yellow; having the color of the skin when it is affected by the jaundice.

Icy

I'CY, adjective [from ice.] Abounding with ice; as the icy regions of the north.

1. Cold; frosty; as icy chains.

2. Made of ice.

3. Resembling ice; chilling.

Religion lays not an icy hand on the true joys of life.

4. Cold; frigid; destitute of affection or passion.

5. Indifferent; unaffected; backward.

Icy-Pearled

I'CY-PEARLED, adjective Studded with spangles of ice.

I'd, contracted from I would, or I had.

Idea

IDE'A, noun [Latin idea; Gr. to see, Latin video.]

1. Literally, that which is seen; hence, form, image, model of any thing in the mind; that which is held or comprehended by the understanding or intellectual faculties.

I have used the idea to express whatever is meant by phantasm, notion, species, or whatever it is which the mind can be employed about in thinking.

Whatever the mind perceives in itself, or is the immediate object of perception, thought or understanding, that I call an idea

The attention of the understanding to the objects acting on it, by which it becomes sensible of the impressions they make, is called by logicians, perception, and the notices themselves as they exist in the mind, as the materials of thinking and knowledge, are distinguished by the name of ideas.

An idea is the reflex perception of objects, after the original perception or impression has been felt by the mind.

In popular language, idea signifies the same thing as conception, apprehension, notion. To have an idea of any thing is to conceive it. In philosophical use, it does not signify that act of the mind which we call thought or conception, but some object of thought.

According to modern writers on mental philosophy, an idea is the object of thought, or the notice which the mind takes of its perceptions.

Darwin uses idea for a notion of external things which our organs bring us acquainted with originally, and he defines it, a contraction, motion or configuration of the fibers which constitute the immediate organ of sense; synonymous with which he sometimes uses sensual motion, in contradistinction to muscular motion.

1. In popular use, idea signifies notion, conception, thought, opinion, and even purpose or intention.

2. Image in the mind.

Her sweet idea wandered through his thoughts.

[A bad use of the word.]

3. An opinion; a proposition. These decisions are incompatible with the idea that the principles are derived from the civil law.

Ideal

IDE'AL, adjective Existing in idea; intellectual; mental; as ideal knowledge.

There will always be a wide interval between practical and ideal excellence.

1. Visionary; existing in fancy or imagination only; as ideal good.

2. That considers ideas as images, phantasms, or forms in the mind; as the ideal theory or philosophy.

Idealism

IDE'ALISM, noun The system or theory that makes every thing to consist in ideas, and denies the existence of material bodies.

Idealize

IDE'ALIZE, verb intransitive To form ideas.

Ideally

IDE'ALLY, adverb Intellectually; mentally; in idea.

Ideate

IDE'ATE, verb transitive To form in idea; to fancy. [Not in use.]

Identic

IDEN'TIC

IDEN'TICAL, adjective [Latin idem, the same.] The same; not different; as the identical person; the identical proposition.

We found on the thief the identical goods that were lost.

Identical

IDEN'TICAL, a. [L. idem, the same.] The same; not different; as the identical person; the identical proposition. We found on the thief the identical goods that were lost.

Identification

IDENTIFICA'TION, noun The act of making or proving to be the same.

Identified

IDEN'TIFIED, participle passive Ascertained or made to be the same.

Identify

IDEN'TIFY, verb transitive [Latin idem, the same, and facio, to make.]

1. To ascertain or prove to be the same. The owner of the goods found them in the possession of the thief, and identified them.

2. To make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one interest, purpose or intention; to treat as having the same use; to consider as the same in effect.

Paul has identified the two ordinances, circumcision and baptism, and thus, by demonstrating that they have one and the same use and meaning, he has exhibited to our view the very same seal of God's covenant.

That treaty in fact identified Spain with the republican government of France, by a virtual acknowledgment of unqualified vassalage, and by specific stipulations of unconditional defense.

Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people, and of the rules.

IDEN'TIFY, verb intransitive To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.

--An enlightened self-interest, which, when well understood, they tell us will identify with an interest more enlarged and public.

Identifying

IDEN'TIFYING, participle present tense Ascertaining or proving to be the same.

1. Making the same in interest, purpose, use, efficacy, etc.

Identity

IDEN'TITY, noun Sameness, as distinguished from similitude and diversity. We speak of the identity of goods found, the identity of persons, or of personal identity

Ides

IDES, noun plural [Latin idus.] In the ancient Roman calendar, eight days in each month; the first day of which fell on the 13th of January, February, April, June, August, September, November and December, and on the 15th of March, May, July, and October. The ides came between the calends and the nones, and were reckoned backwards. This method of reckoning is still retained in the chancery of Rome, and in the calendar of the breviary.

Idio-Repulisve

IDIO-REPUL'ISVE, adjective Repulsive by itself; as the idio-repulsive power of heat.

Idiocrasy

IDIOC'RASY, noun [Gr. proper, peculiar to one's self, and mixture, temperament, to mix.]

Peculiarity of constitution; that temperament, or state of constitution, which is peculiar to a person.

Idiocratic

IDIOCRAT'IC

IDIOCRAT'ICAL, adjective Peculiar in constitution.

Idiocratical

IDIOCRAT'ICAL, a. Peculiar in constitution.

Idiocy

ID'IOCY, noun [Gr. See Idiot.] A defect of understanding; properly, a natural defect.

Idiocy and lunacy excuse from the guilt of crime.

Idioelectric

IDIOELEC'TRIC, adjective [Gr. separate from others, peculiar to one's self, and electric.]

Electric per se, or containing electricity in its natural state.

Idiom

ID'IOM, noun [Latin idioma, from Gr. proper, or peculiar to one's self; Eng. widow, wide.]

1. A mode of expression peculiar to a language; peculiarity of expression or phraseology. In this sense, it is used in the plural to denote forms of speech or phraseology, peculiar to a nation or language.

And to just idioms fix our doubtful speech.

2. The genius or peculiar east of a language.

He followed the Latin language, but did not comply with the idiom of ours.

3. Dialect.

Idiomatic

IDIOMAT'IC

IDIOMAT'ICAL, adjective Peculiar to a language; pertaining to the particular genius or modes of expression which belong to a language; as an idiomatic phrase.

Idiomatical

IDIOMAT'ICAL, a. Peculiar to a language; pertaining to the particular genius or modes of expression which belong to a language; as an idiomatic phrase.

Idiomatically

IDIOMAT'ICALLY, adverb According to the idiom of a language.

Idiopathic

IDIOPATH'IC, adjective [See Idiopathy.] Pertaining to idiopathy; indicating a disease peculiar to a particular part of the body, and not arising from any preceding disease; as idiopathic head-ach. The epilepsy is idiopathic when it proceeds from some fault in the brain; but sympathetic, when it is the consequence of some other disorder.

The term idiopathic is also applied to general as well as local diseases, as idiopathic fever. It then signifies, not sympathetic or symptomatic, not arising from any previous disease.

Idiopathically

IDIOPATH'ICALLY, adverb By means of its own disease or affections; not sympathetically.

Idiopathy

IDIOP'ATHY, noun [Gr. proper, peculiar, and suffering, disease, to suffer.]

1. An original disease in a particular part of the body; a disease peculiar to some part of the body and not proceeding from another disease.

2. Peculiar affection.

Idiosyncrasy

IDIOSYN'CRASY, noun [Gr. proper, with, and temperament.] A peculiar temperament or organization of a body, by which it is rendered more liable to certain disorders than bodies differently constituted.

Idiot

ID'IOT, noun [Latin idiota; Gr. private, vulgar, unskilled, peculiar, that is, separate, simple. See Idiom.]

1. A natural fool or fool from his birth; a human being in form, but destitute of reason, or the ordinary intellectual powers of man.

A person who has understanding enough to measure a yard of cloth, number twenty correctly, tell the days of the week, etc., is not an idiot in the eye of the law.

2. A foolish person; one unwise.

Idiotic

IDIOT'IC, adjective Like an idiot; foolish; sottish.

Idiotish

ID'IOTISH, adjective Like an idiot; partaking of idiocy; foolish.

Idiotism

ID'IOTISM, noun [Gr. a form of speech taken from the vulgar.]

1. An idiom; a peculiarity of expression; a mode of expression peculiar to a language; a peculiarity in the structure of words and phrases.

Scholars sometimes give terminations and idiotisms suitable to their native language, to words newly invented.

2. Idiocy.

But it would be well to restrain this word to its proper signification, and keep idiocy and idiotism distinct.

Idiotize

ID'IOTIZE, verb intransitive To become stupid.

Idle

I'DLE, adjective

1. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing.

Why stand ye here all the day idle? Matthew 20:3.

To be idle is to be vicious.

2. Slothful; given to rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; as an idle man; an idle fellow.

3. Affording leisure; vacant; not occupied; as idle time; idle hours.

4. Remaining unused; unemployed; applied to things; as, my sword or spear is idle

5. Useless; vain; ineffectual; as idle rage.

6. Unfruitful; barren; not productive of good.

Of antres vast and idle desarts.

Idle weeds.

7. Trifling; vain; of no importance; as an idle story; an idle reason; idle arguments.

8. Unprofitable; not tending to edification.

Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36.

Idle differs from lazy; the latter implying constitutional or habitual aversion or indisposition to labor or action, sluggishness; whereas idle in its proper sense, denotes merely unemployed. An industrious man may be idle but he cannot be lazy.

I'DLE, verb intransitive To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.

To idle away, in a transitive sense, to spend in idleness; as, to idle away time.

Idleheaded

I'DLEHEADED, adjective [idle and head.] Foolish; unreasonable.

1. Delirious; infatuated. [Little used.]

Idleness

I'DLENESS, noun Abstinence from labor or employment; the state of a person who is unemployed in labor, or unoccupied in business; the state of doing nothing. idleness is the parent of vice.

Through the idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. Ecclesiastes 10:18.

1. Aversion to labor; reluctance to be employed, or to exertion either of body or mind; laziness; sloth; sluggishness. This is properly laziness; but idleness is often the effect of laziness, and sometimes this word may be used for it.

2. Unimportance; trivialness.

Apes of idleness

3. Inefficacy; uselessness. [Little used.]

4. Barrenness; worthlessness. [Little used.]

5. Emptiness; foolishness; infatuation; as idleness of brain. [Little used.]

Idlepated

I'DLEPATED, adjective Idleheaded; stupid.

Idler

I'DLER, noun One who does nothing; one who spends his time in inaction, or without being engaged in business.

1. A lazy person; a sluggard.

Idlesby

I'DLESBY, noun An idle or lazy person. [Not used.]

Idly

I'DLY, adverb In an idle manner; without employment.

1. Lazily; sluggishly.

2. Foolishly; uselessly; in a trifling way.

A shilling spent idly by a fool, may be saved by a wiser person.

3. Carelessly; without attention.

4. Vainly; ineffectually; as, to reason idly against truth.

Idocrase

ID'OCRASE, noun [Gr. form, and mixture; a mixed figure.]

A mineral, the vesuvian of Werner, sometimes massive, and very often in shining prismatic crystals. Its primitive form is a four-sided prism with square bases. It is found near Vesuvius, in unaltered rocks ejected by the volcano; also in primitive rocks, in various other localities.

Idol

I'DOL, noun [Latin idolum; Gr. form or to see.]

1. An image, form or representation, usually of a man or other animal, consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity. Idols are usually statues or images, carved out of wood or stone, or formed of metals, particularly silver or gold.

The gods of the nations are idols. Psalms 96:5.

2. An image.

Nor ever idol seemed so much alive.

3. A person loved and honored to adoration. The prince was the idol of the people.

4. Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:1.

An idol is any thing which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures.

5. A representation. [Not in use.]

Idolater

IDOL'ATER, noun [Latin idololatra. See Idolatry.]

1. A worshiper of idols; one who pays divine honors to images, statues, or representations of any thing made by hands; one who worships as a deity that which is not God; a pagan.

2. An adorer; a great admirer.

Idolatress

IDOL'ATRESS, noun A female worshiper of idols.

Idolatrize

IDOL'ATRIZE, verb intransitive To worship idols.

IDOL'ATRIZE, verb transitive To adore; to worship.

Idolatrous

IDOL'ATROUS, adjective Pertaining to idolatry; partaking of the nature of idolatry, or of the worship of false gods; consisting in the worship of idols; as idolatrous worship.

1. Consisting in or partaking of an excessive attachment or reverence; as an idolatrous veneration for antiquity.

Idolatrously

IDOL'ATROUSLY, adverb In an idolatrous manner; with excessive reverence.

Idolatry

IDOL'ATRY, noun [Latin idololatria. Gr. idol, and to worship or serve.]

1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.

Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, etc. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals.

2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.

Idolish

I'DOLISH, adjective Idolatrous.

Idolism

I'DOLISM, noun The worship of idols. [Little used.]

Idolist

I'DOLIST, noun A worship of images; a poetical word.

Idolize

I'DOLIZE, verb transitive To love to excess; to love or reverence to adoration; as, to idolize gold or wealth; to idolize children; to idolize a virtuous magistrate or a hero.

Idolized

I'DOLIZED, participle passive Loved or reverenced to adoration.

Idolizer

I'DOLIZER, noun One who idolizes, or loves to reverence.

Idolizing

I'DOLIZING, participle present tense Loving or revering to an excess bordering on adoration.

Idoneous

IDO'NEOUS, adjective [Latin idoneus; probably from the root of Gr. to be strong, able or sufficient.]

Fit; suitable; proper; convenient; adequate. [Little used.]

Idyl

IDYL, noun [Latin idyllium; Gr. supposed to be from form.]

A short poem; properly, a short pastoral poem; as the idyls of Theocritus.

I, e. stands for Latin id est, that is.

Ieland

I'ELAND, noun i'land. [Latin aqua, and land. This is the genuine English word, always used in discourse, but for which is used island, an absurd compound of Fr.isle and land, which signifies land in water-land, or rather ieland-land.]

1. A portion of land surrounded by water; as Bermuda, Barbadoes, Cuba, Great Britain, Borneo.

2. A large mass of floating ice.

If

IF, verb transitive It is used as the sign of a condition, or it introduces a conditional sentence. It is a verb, without a specified nominative. In like manner we use grant, admit, suppose. Regularly, if should be followed, as it was formerly, by the substitute or pronoun that, referring to the succeeding sentence or proposition. if that John shall arrive in season, I will send him with a message. But that is now omitted, and the subsequent sentence, proposition or affirmation may be considered as the object of the verb. Give John shall arrive; grant, suppose, admit that he shall arrive, I will send him with a message. The sense of if or give, in this use, is grant, admit, cause to be, let the fact be, let the thing take place. if then is equivalent to grant, allow, admit. 'If thou wilt, thou canst make me whole, ' that is, thou canst make me whole, give the fact, that thou wilt.

IF thou art the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 14:28.

1. Whether or not.

Uncertain if by augury or chance.

Igated

IGATED, participle passive Steered or managed in passing on the water; passed over in sailing.

Igneous

IG'NEOUS, adjective [Latin igneus, from ignis, fire.]

1. Consisting of fire; as igneous particles emitted from burning wood.

2. Containing fire; having the nature of fire.

3. Resembling fire; as an igneous appearance.

Ignescent

IGNES'CENT, adjective [Latin ignescens, ignesco, from ignis, fire.]

Emitting sparks of fire when struck with steel; scintillating; as ignescent stones.

IGNES'CENT, noun A stone or mineral that gives out sparks when struck with steel or iron.

Many other stones, besides this class of ignescents, produce a real scintillation when struck against steel.

Ignifluous

IGNIF'LUOUS, adjective [Latin ignifluus.] Flowing with fire.

Ignify

IG'NIFY, verb transitive [Latin ignis and facio.] To form into fire.

Ignipotent

IGNIP'OTENT, adjective [Latin ignis, fire, and potens, powerful.]

Presiding over fire. Vulcan is called the power ignipotent

IGNIS FATUUS, noun [Latin] A meteor or light that appears in the night, over marshy grounds, supposed to be occasioned by phosphoric matter extricated from putrefying animal or vegetable substances, or by some inflammable gas; vulgarly called - Will with the wisp, and Jack with a lantern.

Ignite

IGNI'TE, verb transitive [Latin ignis, fire.] To kindle, or set on fire.

1. More generally, to communicate fire to, or to render luminous or red by heat; as, to ignite charcoal or iron. Anthracite is ignited with more difficulty than bituminous coal.

IGNI'TE, verb intransitive To take fire; to become red with heat.

Ignited

IGNI'TED, participle passive Set on fire.

1. Rendered red or luminous by heat or fire.

Ignitible

IGNI'TIBLE, adjective Capable of being ignited.

Igniting

IGNI'TING, participle present tense Setting on fire; becoming red with heat.

1. Communicating fire to; heating to redness.

Ignition

IGNI'TION, noun The act of kindling, or setting on fire.

1. The act or operation of communicating fire or heat, till the substance becomes red or luminous.

2. The state of being kindled; more generally, the state of being heated to redness or luminousness.

3. Calcination.

Ignivomous

IGNIV'OMOUS, adjective [Latin ignivomus; ignis, fire, and vomo, to vomit.]

Vomiting fire; as an ignivomous mountain, a volcano.

Ignobility

IGNOBIL'ITY, noun Ignobleness. [Not in use.]

Ignoble

IGNO'BLE, adjective [Latin ignobilis; in and nobilis. See Noble.]

1. Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious.

2. Mean; worthless; as an ignoble plant.

3. Base, not honorable; as an ignoble motive.

Ignobleness

IGNO'BLENESS, noun Want of dignity; meanness.

Ignobly

IGNO'BLY, adverb Of low family or birth; as ignobly born.

1. Meanly; dishonorably; reproachfully; disgracefully; basely.

The troops ignobly fly.

Ignominious

IGNOMIN'IOUS, adjective [Latin ignominiosus. See Ignominy.]

1. Incurring disgrace; cowardly; of mean character.

Then with pale fear surprised,

Fled ignominious

2. Very shameful; reproachful; dishonorable; infamous. To be hanged for a crime is ignominious Whipping, cropping and branding are ignominious punishments.

3. Despicable; worthy of contempt; as an ignominious projector.

Ignominiously

IGNOMIN'IOUSLY, adverb Meanly; disgracefully; shamefully.

Ignominy

IG'NOMINY, noun [Latin ignominia; in and nomen, against name or reputation.] Public disgrace; shame; reproach; dishonor; infamy.

Their generals have been received with honor after their defeat; yours with ignominy after conquest.

Vice begins in mistake, and ends in ignominy

Ignoramus

IGNORA'MUS, noun [Latin we are ignorant; from ignoro.]

1. The indorsement which a grand jury make on a bill presented to them for inquiry, when there is not evidence to support the charges, on which all proceedings are stopped, and the accused person is discharged.

2. An ignorant person; a vain pretender to knowledge.

Ignorance

IG'NORANCE, noun [Latin ignorantia; ignoro, not to know; ignarus, ignorant; in and gnarus, knowing.]

1. Want, absence or destitution of knowledge; the negative state of the mind which has not been instructed in arts, literature or science, or has not been informed of facts. ignorance may be general, or it may be limited to particular subjects. ignorance of the law does not excuse a man for violating it. ignorance of facts if often venial.

Ignorance is preferable to error.

2. Ignorances, in the plural, is used sometimes for omissions or mistakes; but the use is uncommon and not to be encouraged.

Ignorant

IG'NORANT, adjective [Latin ignorans.] Destitute of knowledge; uninstructed or uninformed; untaught; unenlightened. A man may be ignorant of the law, or of any art or science. He may be ignorant of his own rights, or of the rights of others.

1. Unknown; undiscovered; a poetical use; as ignorant concealment.

2. Unacquainted with.

Ignorant of guilt, I fear not shame.

3. Unskillfully made or done. [Not legitimate.]

Poor ignorant baubles.

IG'NORANT, noun A person untaught or uninformed; one unlettered or unskilled.

Did I for this take pains to teach

Our zealous ignorants to preach?

Ignorantly

IG'NORANTLY, adverb Without knowledge, instruction or information.

Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Acts 17:23.

1. Unskillfully; inexpertly. A man may mistake blunders for beauties and ignorantly admire them.

Ignore

IGNO'RE, verb transitive To be ignorant. [Not in use.]

Ignoscible

IGNOS'CIBLE, adjective [Latin ignoscibilis.] Pardonable. [Not used.]

Ignote

IGNO'TE, adjective [Latin ignotus.] Unknown. [Not used.]

Iguana

IGU'ANA, noun A species of lizard, of the genus Lacerta.

Il

IL, prefixed to words beginning with l, stands for in, as used in the Latin language, and usually denotes a negation of the sense of the simple word, as illegal, not legal; or it denotes to or on, and merely augments or enforces the sense, as in illuminate.

Ile

ILE, so written by Pope for aile, a walk or alley in a church or public building. [Not in use.]

1. An ear of corn. [Not used.]

Ilex

I'LEX, noun [Latin] In botany, the generic name of the Holly-tree.

Also, the Quercus ilex or great scarlet oak.

Iliac

IL'IAC, adjective [Latin iliacus, from ilia, the flank, or small intestines; Gr. to wind.] Pertaining to the lower bowels, or to the ileum. The iliac passion, is a violent and dangerous kind of colic, with an inversion of the peristaltic motion of the bowels.

Iliad

IL'IAD, noun [from Ilium, Ilion, Troy.] An epic poem, composed by Homer, in twenty four books. The subject of this poem is the wrath of Achilles; in describing which, the poet exhibits the miserable effects of disunion and public dissensions. Hence the phrase, Ilias malorum, an iliad of woes or calamities, a world of disasters.

Ilk

ILK, adjective The same; each. This is retained in Scottish, from the Saxon elc, each.

Ill

ILL, noun

1. Bad or evil, in a general sense; contrary to good, physical or moral; applied to things; evil; wicked; wrong; iniquitous; as, his ways are ill; he sets an ill example.

2. Producing evil or misfortune; as an ill star or planet.

3. Bad; evil; unfortunate; as an ill end; an ill fate.

4. Unhealthy; insalubrious; as an ill air or climate.

5. Cross; crabbed; surly; peevish; as ill nature; ill temper.

6. Diseased; disordered; sick or indisposed; applied to persons; as, the man is ill; he has been ill a long time; he is ill of a fever.

7. Diseased; impaired; as an ill state of health.

8. Discordant; harsh; disagreeable; as an ill sound.

9. Homely; ugly; as ill looks, or an ill countenance.

10. Unfavorable; suspicious; as when we say, this affair bears an ill look or aspect.

11. Rude; unpolished; as ill breeding; ill manners.

12. Not proper; not regular or legitimate; as an ill expression in grammar.

ILL, noun Wickedness; depravity; evil.

Strong virtue, like strong nature, struggles still,

Exerts itself and then throws off the ill

1. Misfortune; calamity; evil; disease; pain; whatever annoys or impairs happiness, or prevents success.

Who can all sense of other's ills escape,

Is but a brute at beat in human shape.

ILL, adverb Not well; not rightly or perfectly.

He is ill at ease.

1. Not easily; with pain or difficulty. He is ill able to sustain the burden.

Ill bears the sex the youthful lovers' fate,

When just approaching to the nuptial state.

ILL, prefixed to participles of the present tense, and denoting evil or wrong, may be considered as a noun governed by the participle, or as making a part of a compound word; as an ill meaning man, an ill designing man, an ill boding hour; that is, a man meaning ill an hour boding ill It is more consonant, however, to the genius of our language, to treat these and similar words as compounds. In some cases, as before the participles of intransitive verbs, ill must be considered as a part of the compound, as in ill-looking. When used before the perfect participle, ill is to be considered as an adverb, or modifying word, or to be treated as a part of the compound; as in ill-bred, ill-governed, ill-fated, ill-favored, ill-formed, ill-minded. In these and all similar connections, it might be well to unite the two words in a compound by a hyphen. As ill may be prefixed to almost any participle, it is needless to attempt to collect a list of such words for insertion.

Ill-Bred

ILL-BRED, adjective Not well bred; unpolite.

Ill-Breeding

ILL-BREE'DING, noun Want of good breeding; unpoliteness.

Ill-Conditioned

ILL-CONDI'TIONED, adjective [See Condition.] Being in bad order or state.

Ill-Favored

ILL-FA'VORED, adjective [ill and favored.] Ugly; ill-looking; wanting beauty; deformed.

Ill-favored and lean fleshed. Genesis 41:1.

Ill-Favoredly

ILL-FA'VOREDLY, adverb With deformity.

1. Roughly; rudely.

Ill-Favoredness

ILL-FA'VOREDNESS, noun Ugliness; deformity.

Ill-Lived

ILL-LI'VED, adjective Leading a wicked life. [Little used.]

Ill-Nature

ILL-NA'TURE, noun [ill and nature.] Crossness; crabbedness; habitual bad temper, or want of kindness; fractiousness.

Ill-Natured

ILL-NA'TURED, adjective Cross, crabbed; surly; intractable; of habitual bad temper; peevish; fractious. An ill-natured person may disturb the harmony of a whole parish.

1. That indicates ill-nature.

The ill-natured task refuse.

2. Intractable; not yielding to culture; as ill-natured land. [Not legitimate.]

Ill-Naturedly

ILL-NA'TUREDLY, adverb In a peevish or forward manner; crossly; unkindly.

Ill-Naturedness

ILL-NA'TUREDNESS, noun Crossness; want of a kind disposition.

Ill-Willer

ILL-WILL'ER, noun One who wishes ill to another.

Illabile

ILLAB'ILE, adjective [See Labile.] Not liable to fall or err; infallible. [Not used.]

Illability

ILLABIL'ITY, noun The quality of not being liable to err, fall or apostatize. [Not used.]

Illacerable

ILLAC'ERABLE, adjective [See Lacerate.] That cannot be torn or rent.

Illapse

ILLAPSE, noun illaps'. [See Lapse.] A sliding in; an immission or entrance of one thing into another.

1. A falling on; a sudden attack.

Illaqueate

ILLAQ'UEATE, verb transitive [Latin illaqueo; in and laqueo, to ensnare; laquens, a snare.] To ensnare; to entrap; to entangle; to catch. [Little used.]

Illaqueated

ILLAQ'UEATED, participle passive Ensnared.

Illaqueation

ILLAQUEA'TION, noun The act of ensnaring; a catching or entrapping. [Little used.]

1. A snare.

Illataive

IL'LATAIVE, adjective [See Illation.] Relating to illation; that may be inferred; as an illative consequence.

1. That denotes an inference; as an illative word or particle, as then and therefore.

IL'LATAIVE, noun That which denotes illation or inference.

Illation

ILLA'TION, noun [Latin illatio; in and latio, a bearing; latus, from fero.] An inference from premises; a conclusion; deduction. [Little used.]

Illaudable

ILLAUD'ABLE, adjective [See Laudable.] Not laudable; not worthy of approbation or commendation; as an illaudable motive or act.

1. Worthy of censure or dispraise.

Illaudably

ILLAUD'ABLY, adverb In a manner unworthy of praise; without deserving praise.

Illecebrous

ILLE'CEBROUS, adjective [Latin illecebrosus.] Alluring; full of allurement.

Illegal

ILLE'GAL, adjective [See Legal.] Not legal; unlawful; contrary to law; illicit; as an illegal act; illegal trade.

Illegality

ILLEGAL'ITY, noun Contrariety to law; unlawfulness; as the illegality of trespass, or of false imprisonment.

Illegalize

ILLE'GALIZE, verb transitive To render unlawful.

Illegally

ILLE'GALLY, adverb In a manner contrary to law; unlawfully; as a man illegally imprisoned.

Illegibility

ILLEGIBIL'ITY, noun The quality of being illegible.

Illegible

ILLEG'IBLE, adjective [See Legible.] That cannot be read; obscure or defaced so that the words cannot be known. It is a disgrace to a gentleman to write an illegible hand. The manuscripts found in the ruins of Herculaneum are mostly illegible

Illegibly

ILLEG'IBLY, adverb In a manner not to be read; as a letter written illegibly