In.¹

Brit.

/ʌɪ/, U.S.

/aɪ/

Etymology: the ninth letter and third vowel of the Roman alphabet, going back through the Greek Iota to the Semitic Yod. The simple form I of the character in Greek from about 500 b.c., and in the Roman alphabet, was reduced from a more complex Early Greek form ?, which originated in the Phœnician ?. The Semitic letter represents a consonant (= English Y in yellow, yoke, etc.), but this forms diphthongs with preceding a and e, and ‘quiesces’ in a preceding i, making long ī. It is thus, in the body or at the end of a word, often an indication of the vowel ī; and it was adopted as the symbol of the i vowel by the Greeks, who had no y consonant. In the Latin alphabet, on the other hand, it was used with both values, viz. that of i vowel (long and short), and y consonant, as in ibīdem, ībis; iacui, Iupiter, Iouis. Even when the consonant passed in Romanic from the sound of Y to that of ‘G soft’ (Italian gi-, English and Old French j), and subsequently, in some languages, to other sounds, it continued for many centuries to be expressed by the same letter as the vowel I, with which it had no longer phonetic relations. At length, after 1600 (in England chiefly 1630–40), a differentiation was made, the consonant being expressed by the character J j, in its origin merely a variant form of I i, used in certain positions; for the history of which see the next letter J. The result is that, in the modern development of the Roman alphabet, the ninth letter has been split into two, I and J; and I remains only a vowel. The original value of the Græco-Roman I vowel when long was that of the ‘high-front-narrow’ vowel of Bell's scale, which the letter still has in all the continental languages, and in some English words thence adopted, as Louisa, machine, clique, casino, a sound which in native English words is now normally represented by ē, ee, in be, see, mete, meet. The short i was doubtless originally the true ‘short’ of the same sound, the ‘narrow’ i in French fini, Italian fortissimo; but, in Germanic, the short vowel represented by i has probably always been the corresponding ‘wide’ vowel /ɪ/, as in English finny, missing. Thus, the current sound of short i in him, it, has, apparently, come down unchanged from Old English times. Long i, on the other hand, has undergone a great change, having about the beginning of the modern period changed into a diphthong with i as its second element. This evidently arose from the practice of beginning the utterance of the long vowel before the vocal organs had quite attained the very close position of long /iː/, so that the sound began with an opener and less definite vowel quality, which tended in use to become more and more distinct from the second element. The exact quality of the first element at present is difficult to fix: it varies greatly in different localities and in different individuals. ‘We have symbolized the diphthong by /əɪ/, taking the first element as the “mid-mixed-wide” vowel of Melville Bell's scale, the general “obscure vowel” of English; but some phonetists take it as the “mid-back” or the “low-mixed” vowel, wide or narrow; and it may be heard locally as the “mid-front” and “low-front” wide or narrow.’ ( N.E.D.) This diphthongization of original long ī is not peculiar to English, but has taken place also in German and Dutch. The difference is that in English the old simple vowel symbol is retained for the new diphthong, while in German and Dutch this is expressed by the new diphthongal symbols ei and ij (formerly y): compare Old English, Old High German, Old Low German mīn with English mine, German mein, Dutch mijn, formerly myn. In addition to the two normal modern English values /ɪ/ and /aɪ/, the letter i has others, due either to the disturbing influence of a following r, to the retention by foreign words of their foreign sounds, or to the obscuring effect of absence of stress in certain positions. The sounds that occur in stressed syllables are the following:1. /ɪ/in hit/hɪt/.2. /aɪ/in ice/aɪs/.3. /aɪə/in hire/haɪə(r)/.4. /ɜː/in fir/fɜː/.5. /iː/in pique/piːk/.6. /ɪə/in emir/ɛˈmɪə(r)/. All these may occur also in unstressed syllables. The combination ie has the value of No. 2 in die, dies, died, etc.; of Nos. 5 and 6 in field, chief, grieve, pier, grenadier, etc.; exceptionally that of /ɛ/ in friend, /ɪ/ in sieve. Finally, and unstressed, it has that of simple /ɪ/, as in aerie, cities, pitied. The combinations ai, ei, oi represent diphthongs in Isaiah /aɪˈzaɪə/, aisle /aɪl/, eider /aɪdə(r)/, oil /ɔɪl/, etc.; but ai, ei merely represent /eɪ/, /ɛə/, /iː/ or /ɪə/ in aim /eɪm/, air /ɛə(r)/, rein /reɪn/, feint, heir /ɛə(r)/, receive, receipt, Leith /liːθ/, weir /wɪə(r)/, etc. Before another vowel in the suffixes -ian, -ier, -ion, -ious, etc., i has often the consonantal value of /j/, or a value which readily passes into it: e.g. Christian, clothier, courtier, million, onion, union, copious, previous; after certain consonants, this /j/ value is merged in the consonant, which it palatalizes, as in spacious /ˈspeɪʃəs/, nation /ˈneɪʃən/, soldier /ˈsəʊldʒə(r)/, fusion /ˈfjuːʒən/, Persia /pɜːʃə/, hosier /həʊʒə(r)/, fashion /ˈfæʃən/.The minuscule or ‘small letter’ i is now surmounted by a dot. This is no original part of the letter, but is derived from a diacritic mark, like an acute accent, used to particularize the i in positions in which it might have been taken merely for the stroke of another letter. It appears to have begun in Latin manuscripts about the 11th cent. with the ii in such words as ingeníí, and to have been thence extended to i in contiguity with m, n, or u, and finally to have been used with i in all positions. The accent form of the mark, seen in Caxton's type and in modern German, was in 15th cent. handwriting often developed into a long curved flourish; but in books printed in Roman type it was reduced to the round dot now in use. In chirography, the dot still largely serves its original purpose of indicating the i; hence the phrase to dot the i's. The same cause that led to the dotting of i contributed largely to the formation of j, originally merely a lengthened or tailed i used finally as a more distinctive form, especially when two i's came together, as in ingenij, or in the numerals ij, iij, viij, etc.; also to the substitution of y for i, especially in contiguity with m, n, u, etc., or when final. In English it became at length a kind of scribal canon that i must not be used as a final letter, but must in this position be changed to y; but in inflected forms, where the i was not final, it was retained; hence the current spellings, city, cities; holy, holier, holiest; carry, carries, carried, carrier; weary, wearisome, etc. In modern English no native word ends in i; in alien or adopted words so ending, the i is usually pronounced /aɪ/ in cirri, foci, magi, and other Latin plurals, also in Rabbi, Rabboni, Eli, Levi, and other Hebrew names, but as /ɪ/ in Cadi, kohlrabi, Mahdi, and other foreign words of recent adoption.

I. The letter of the alphabet, and its shape.

1. Illustrations of the literary use of the letter:

a. simply. (The plural appears as Is, I's, is, i's.) I per se, or I per se I, the letter I by itself forming a word, esp. the pronoun I. Also figurative esp. in dot of (on) an i, to put the dots on the i's, to dot the (one's) i's: see dot v.¹ 1b.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Gram. 5 Gyf þu cwyst nu iudex, þonne byð se i consonans.

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 5 Of ðam [stafum] syndon fif vocales, þæt synd clypiendlice: a, e, i, o, u.

c1450 Poem against Friars i, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 322 With an I. and an O. thai praysen not Seynt Poule.

c1450 Poem against Friars ii With an O. and an I. men weven that thai wede.

?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Bi Ye shal pronounce..your i, as sharpe as can be.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum sig. M.iiij I, Letter is as wel a consonante as a vowell.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. iii. ii. 226 I only was compleat; I was I per se I; I was like a Rule, without exception.

1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 95 Our vulgar (i) as in (stile) seems to be..a Dipthong..composed of a, i, or e, i, and not a simple Original Vowel.

1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 240 No English Word ends in I, but has always an E after it, as easie..tho' now ie is frequently changed into y.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) That Verse in Virgil, Accipiunt inimicum imbrem, rimisque fatiscunt; Which abounds in i's, is generally admired.

1890 J. H. Stirling Gifford Lect. xvi. 317 It is but a logical breathing: a logical dot on a logical i.

1892 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 2 486 He must..have full notice. But there is no regulation as to what t's are to be crossed or what i's are to be dotted in the notice to be given.

b. Representing Greek ἰῶτα, iota n.: see jot n.¹

ΚΠ

c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. v. 18 Oþþæt geleoreþ heofun and eorþe, an i [L. iota unum] eþþa an holstæfes ne gelioreþ from ae.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) v. 18 An i oððe an prica.

2. In combinations.

a. i-dot n. the dot of an i. I-bar n., I-beam, I-iron, I-rail an iron bar, rail, etc., the section of which is like the letter I.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc.

stingc725

stakec893

sowelc900

tree971

rungOE

shaftc1000

staffc1000

stockc1000

poleOE

spritOE

luga1250

lever1297

stanga1300

perchc1300

raftc1330

sheltbeam1336

stower1371

palea1382

spar1388

spire1392

perk1396

ragged staff1397

peela1400

slot1399

plantc1400

heck-stower1401

sparkin1408

cammockc1425

sallow stakec1440

spoke1467

perk treec1480

yard1480

bode1483

spit1485

bolm1513

gada1535

ruttock1542

stob1550

blade1558

wattle1570

bamboo1598

loggat1600

barling1611

sparret1632

picket1687

tringle1706

sprund1736

lug-pole1773

polting lug1789

baton1801

stuckin1809

rack-pin1821

picket-pin1844

I-iron1874

pricker1875

stag1881

podger1888

window pole1888

verge1897

sallow pole1898

lat1899

swizzle-stick1962

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [noun] > part of letter

tittle1538

dash1607

taila1627

i-dot1897

lobe1957

1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 104/2 Other forms are known as Z-iron, I-iron, etc.

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1195/1 I-rail, a double-headed rail with flanges on each side above and below; on the foot and tread.

1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 69 A ceaseless hoisting and swinging and lowering of angle-bar, I-bar, Z-bar, or other bar gliding into its appointed place.

1897 ‘P. Warung’ Tales Old Regime 23 They were identical to..the position of an i-dot.

b. i-mutation, i-umlaut (also i/j-mutation etc.) Philology, the fronting influence of an *i or *j on the vowel of a preceding syllable in one and the same word; also, the result of this. So i-mutated, i-umlauted adjs.

ΚΠ

1870 F. A. March Compar. Gram. Anglo-Saxon Lang. 13 i-umlaut of ô: fôt, fêt(e).

1891 A. L. Mayhew Synopsis Old Eng. Phonol. 41 In North. and Mercian oe = e, the i-umlaut of o.

1906 H. C. Wyld Hist. Study Mother Tongue i. 10 This particular kind of change, known as i-mutation, occurs in hundreds of words in O.E., though, as a rule, the i or j which caused the fronting, disappeared.

1908 J. Wright & E. M. Wright Old Eng. Gram. iii. 28 Palatal umlaut, generally called i-umlaut.

1908 J. Wright & E. M. Wright Old Eng. Gram. iii. 28 a was the only vowel which underwent i-umlaut in OS. and Old High German.

1927 Englische Studien 10 Nov. 81 There was, by the side of OE. scēat..an i-mutated variant scīete or scyte with the same sense.

1927 E. V. Gordon Introd. Old Norse 246 ø₂ was the w-mutation of ę or (rarely) a late i-mutation of ǫ.

1945 S. Einarsson Icelandic i. v. 30 The I-Shift (..i-umlaut, i-mutation) is so called because it was caused by an i or a j— now often lost—in the ending of a word.

1953 L. F. Brosnahan Some Old Eng. Sound Changes 63 The phenomenon of i- or j- mutation.

II. Denoting serial order; also used symbolically.

3. Used, like other letters of the alphabet, to denote serial order; marking, e.g. the ninth sheet of a book, or quire of a MS., etc.

4. In Logic, the symbol of a particular affirmative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > affirmation or predication > signs and symbols

A1551

I1552

assertion-sign1906

1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Hvj^v A, dooeth affirme: E, dooeth deny, whiche are bothe vniuersall: I dooth affirme, O dooth deny, whiche we particular call.

1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 262 The Vowels..signifie the qualities, and quantities of the premisses. A. An universall affirmative. E. An universall negative. I. A particular affirmative. O. A particular negative.

1866 T. Fowler Elem. Deduct. Logic (1869) 14 If I be false; A is false, E true, O true.

5. The Roman numeral symbol for One.This was not originally the letter, but a single line denoting unity. It is repeated for the units up to 3 (II, III), formerly, as still on a dial-plate, to 4 (IIII). These are added to symbols of higher numbers, as VI = 6, XII = 12, XXIII = 23, LI = 51, CII = 102, etc. Prefixed to V and X, it diminishes them by 1: IV = 4, IX = 9. (In Middle English manuscripts and early printed books these symbols are very frequent instead of the corresponding words, being usually written with a point before and after, thus, ‘he hadde . iiii. c. knyghtes’.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > [noun] > symbol denoting

one?c1425

I1450

unit1670

1450 W. Somner in Four C. Eng. Lett. 4 He, with ij or iij of his men.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) I in the ordinary Roman way of numbering signifies One; and when repeated, signifies as many Units as it is repeated times.

Categories »

6. Mathematics. In Higher Algebra, i or ι is often used for the imaginary quantity √ − 1, square root of minus one. In Quaternions, i, j, k are symbols of vectors, as distinguished from scalars.

a. In Physics I (rarely i) is the symbol of the quantum number of nuclear spin. [Adopted by Back and Goudsmit 1928, in Zeitschr. f. Physik XLVII. 175.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > number representing > symbol of

I1930

1930 L. Pauling & S. Goudsmit Struct. Line Spectra xi. 203 i is a new quantum number, the nuclear spin quantum number.

1932 R. F. Bacher & S. Goudsmit Atomic Energy States 20 The spectrum of bismuth, for which the nuclear moment I is 4½, is an interesting example of this type of hyperfine structure.

1966 D. H. Whiffen Spectrosc. iii. 22 Intrinsic nuclear angular momenta are quantised and may be expressed as Iħ where I..is called the spin quantum number.

1967 E. U. Condon & H. Odishaw Handbk. Physics (ed. 2) vii. iv. 68/1 At low magnetic fields I and J are tightly coupled to form a resultant angular momentum F = I + J, whose quantum number F at low fields is a good quantum number.

b. Occasionally used as the symbol of the quantum number of isospin (more commonly T n.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [noun] > vector quantity > symbol of quantum number of

T1937

I1953

1953 Progress Theoret. Physics 9 420 In general, selection rules are intimately connected with the conservative quantities which we shall inquire for a system involving Fermions. Those are the total angular momentum J and the total isotopic spin I of the system.

1962 A. Ramakrishnan Elem. Particles & Cosmic Rays i. 31 We use the symbol t for the isotopic spin operator of a system of particles and τ for a single particle, their eigenvalues being denoted by T and I respectively.

Initialisms

(Abbreviations cited here with full stops are frequently used without them.) See also IHS n. and I O U n. in their alphabetical places.

Categories »

I n. (Zoology) in dental formulæ = incisor.

Categories »

I n. [symbolic abbreviation for iodine n.] Chemistry = Iodine.

† i. n. Obsolete the earlier equivalent of i.e = id est phr.

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [adverb] > namely or that is to say

namelya1200

i.a1300

namandlya1400

scilicet?a1425

videlicet1464

scil.a1500

viz.a1543

innuendo1564

videl.1589

sc.1607

i.e.1662

vid.1676

v.g.1678

a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 554/3 Artimesie, i. mugwrt, i. merherbarum.

1651 J. French Art Distillation i. 40 Then invert it (i) turn it upside down.

I. n. = various proper names, as Isaac, Isabella, India, etc.; formerly also = Jesus.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) In Abbreviatures and Cyphers I. frequently represents the whole Word Jesus.

I. n. Intelligence (see also I.Q. below).

1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings iv. 87 An air reconnaissance is essentially the observer's show; its main object being to supply the ‘I’ people at headquarters with private bulletins from the back of the German front.

1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 125 I, the Service abbreviation for ‘Intelligence’, i.e. information of military value.

1972 G. Lyall Blame the Dead xiii. 86 ‘What were you in?’ ‘“I” Corps.’

I.A. n. = Indian Army.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.A.—Indian Army.

I.A.A. n. indoleacetic acid (indolylacetic acid).

1947 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 169 465 Indoleacetic acid (IAA) tends to stimulate growth in the light.

1969 New Scientist 7 Aug. 272/1 Isolated bacteria were cultured and shown to form IAA from the amino acid tryptophan.

I.A.E.A. n. International Atomic Energy Agency.

ΚΠ

1958 Times 20 Jan. 6/4 Mr. Robert McKinney, United States member of the I.A.E.A. board of governors.

1958 Times 20 Jan. 6/4 The United States last year already declared its intention to match all contributions of materials to the I.A.E.A. made by other countries up to June, 1960.

1958 P. Noel-Baker Arms Race p. xvii IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency (established in Vienna, October 1957).

1963 Times 28 Sept. 6/7 Sir Roger Makins, chairman of the British Atomic Energy Authority and chief delegate to I.A.E.A.

I.A.T.A. n. International Air Traffic (or Transport) Association.

1931 Flight 20 Mar. 255/1 I..submitted therefore to the International Air Traffic Association, IATA, a suggestion for organising, at the earliest possible moment, a general European air mail net.

1962 Daily Tel. 11 Sept. 12/3 The continuance of rate-cutting could not be tolerated if IATA was to continue its work.

1970 Internat. & Compar. Law Q. 4th Ser. 19 i. 125 It is something of a surprise that the United States Government and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)..should be proposing a system of absolute liability.

I.B.A. n. Independent Broadcasting Authority.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > broadcasting service > [noun] > broadcasting company

B.B.C.1923

British Broadcasting Corporation1926

C.B.S.1930

ABC1931

Portland Place1937

Independent Broadcasting Authority1954

ORTF1964

PBS1969

I.B.A.1971

LBC1973

1971 Guardian 12 Nov. 1/8 The Sound Broadcasting Bill..authorises the new stations under the control of the Independent Television Authority—renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority... The IBA could be advanced up to £2 millions to set up the services.

1971 Times 12 Nov. 8/5 The IBA would have the same obligation in radio to devote sufficient time to accurate and impartial news.

I.B.M. n. (a) intercontinental ballistic missile; (b) International Business Machines (used to denote the computers made by this firm).

ΚΠ

1954 Commonw. 1 Oct. 621/2 The so-called IBM, or intercontinental ballistic missile with nuclear warhead, is the ugly development next to be expected.

1955 Ann. Reg. 1954 402 Reports from the United States referred to a rocket called I.B.M. (intercontinental ballistic missile), a wingless rocket-shaped device already perfected to travel 2,500 miles and expected to have a range of 5,000 miles in due course.

1955 R. J. Schwartz Compl. Dict. Abbrev. 89 I.B.M., International Business Machines.

1956 S. Bellow Seize the Day (1957) ii. 42 When he saw the two sums punched out so neatly on the cards he cursed the company and its IBM equipment.

1956 A. Huxley Adonis & Alphabet 109 Thanks to finger-printing, punched cards and IBM machines, they know practically everything about practically everyone.

1963 I. Fleming On Her Majesty's Secret Service i. 16 Bond's mind ticked and whirred, selecting cards like an IBM machine.

1970 Amer. Jrnl. Physics 38 1294/2 Computations on the jth particle velocity..have been carried out on the Oberlin College IBM 360/44.

I.C. n. and adj. = Inspected, Condemned.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.C.—Inspected, Condemned.

I.C. adj. in charge, in command.

1928 T. E. Lawrence Let. 19 July (1938) iv. 615 No, I am not adjutant, to this camp. Just typist, and i/c files, and duty rolls.

1958 Spectator 15 Aug. 219/1 If you were i/c security, it was obviously necessary to flush the lavatories of spies.

1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File viii. 51 The above named article of War Department property..should be returned to officer i.c. special issue room.

1965 Listener 11 Nov. 763/2 The commanding officer; the 2 I.C.; the adjutant.

I.C. n. Linguistics immediate constituent.

ΚΠ

1947 R. S. Wells in Language 23 ii. 81 We aim in this paper to replace by a unified, systematic theory the heterogeneous and incomplete methods hitherto offered for determining immediate constituents (hereafter abbreviated IC, plural ICs).

1953 Language 29 88 Shannon has conducted experiments in ordinary English orthography, and the reviewer has conducted similar ones, with the proper audiences, in terms of phonemic notation, the results of which bear on the stated correlation between IC-analysis and information theory.

1962 B. M. H. Strang Mod. Eng. Struct. vi. 79 They are immediate constituents (ICs), i.e. the forms that directly go to make up that which is under analysis. They themselves have ICs.

1965 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 11 45 Chomsky develops..IC analysis by his grammatical model of ‘phrase structure + transforms’.

1971 D. Crystal Linguistics iv. 212 In IC analysis, however, such disambiguation was impossible.

I.C. n. integrated circuit.

1966 Electronics 17 Oct. 87 The major problems in using IC's.

1969 New Scientist 18 Dec. 601/3 The IC memory is three times faster than the conventional memory.

1970 J. Earl How to choose Tuners & Amplifiers ii. 28 In a few years' time the majority of radio tuners will carry ICs as well as a few transistors and junction diodes.

I.C.A. n. Institute of Contemporary Arts.

1958 Listener 20 Nov. 842/1 At the I.C.A. there is an exhibition of three collagists.

1969 Listener 27 Mar. 436/3 The ICA has taken us aback by giving some public performances of a radio work, reproducing it stereophonically in a darkened theatre.

I.C.A.O. n. International Civil Aviation Organization.

ΚΠ

1947 Times 17 May 3/5 (headline) Italy nominated for I.C.A.O.

1955 Sci. Amer. Jan. 94/3 The specialized agencies of the United Nations..ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).

1963 Thorn Electr. Industr. Group Profile 25 The system has been approved..by the ICAO.

I.C.B.M. n. intercontinental ballistic missile.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [noun]

missile1945

ballistic rocket1949

ballistic missile1950

I.C.B.M.1955

intercontinental ballistic missile1956

MRBM1960

1955 Newsweek 30 May 13 The Air Force is now calling the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile the ICBM.

1956 Spaceflight Oct. 24/1 The relatively small margin in performance between the I.C.B.M. and a satellite vehicle suggests that great use will be made of it in the future.

1965 I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun ii. 28 Their U-boat fleet and their ICBMs.

I.C.E. n. Institution of Civil Engineers.

1899 Who's Who 166/1 Major-General Sir John Ardagh, K.C.I.E. 1894, Assoc. I.C.E.

I.C.E. n. internal combustion engine.

1950 Chambers's Encycl. XV. 586/2 I.C.E.: see Internal Combustion Engine.

1958 Listener 20 Nov. 835/2 The present advanced state of the internal combustion engine, or ‘I.C.E.’ as my log-book calls it.

1968 Economist 25 May 45/3 But now a modern version of the steam engine has appeared as the major threat to the ICE.

I.C.F.T.U. n. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

1955 Times 30 May 4/4 First, the I.C.F.T.U. will continue its fight to ensure that all workers' rights are respected.

1968 Telegraph (Brisbane) 18 Apr. 10/2 Mr Mick Jordan..represents the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)—a world-wide anti-Communist union body.

I.C.I. n. Imperial Chemical Industries.

1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. viii. 638 Brunner Mond & Co. was only the embryo of I.C.I.

1964 M. Gowing Brit. & Atomic Energy 1939–45 ii. 75 I.C.I. offered to take over..the Halban and Kowarski research.

I.C.S. n. Indian Civil Service.

1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 May 390/3 The late Ross Scott, I.C.S.

1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 June 474/3 Paradoxically, the I.C.S. ‘bureaucrat’ in India is the justification of the popularly elected Minister in England.

1957 J. Masters Far, Far the Mountain Peak iii. 27 If Peter has really made up his mind to go to the I.C.S.—it will be wonderful.

1971 Shankar's Weekly (Delhi) 18 Apr. 22/4 The Prime Minister called the ICS Secretaries of the Central Departments some weeks ago and admonished them.

I.D. n. = Infantry Drill Regulations.

ΚΠ

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.D.R..—Infantry Drill Regulations.

(N.) I.D. n. = (Naval) Intelligence Department.

ΚΠ

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.D.—Intelligence Department.

I.D.A. n. International Development Association.

1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 472 The major development among international agencies was the establishment of the International Development Association (I.D.A.).

1965 Economist 26 June 1512/2 The World Bank's ‘soft-loan’ subsidiary, the International Development Association (IDA), already lends for up to fifty years.

I.D.B. n. illicit diamond buyer, buying.

1884 M. A. Carey-Hobson At Home in Transvaal II. xlii. 520 ‘The fellow had money there, with which he turned I.D.B.’ ‘What's that?’..‘Illicit diamond buyer.’

1886 W. M. Kerr Far Interior I. i. 15 In spite of the vigilance of the detective department a great deal of illicit diamond buying is successfully carried on; hence the well-known ‘IDB’, which refers to the illegal trade.

1891 E. Glanville Fossicker xxix They have given an unenviable reputation to three letters of the alphabet—I.D.B., which mean ‘Illicit Diamond Buyers’, and refer to some of the most cunning and most unscrupulous rascals in creation.

1899 E. W. Hornung Amateur Cracksman 55 ‘You know what an I.D.B. is?’ ‘Illicit Diamond Buyer?’ ‘Exactly.’

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 565/1 Since 1888 a special Court has been held at Kimberley for trying cases relating to illicit diamond buying (‘I.D.B.’).

1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay (U.K. ed.) ii. i. 122 Barmentrude..used to be an I.D.B.—an illicit diamond buyer.

1917 New Statesman 17 Nov. 150/1 To represent the typical Bolshevik as a German agent..is just as clever and fair as to try to make out that an I.D.B. from the Rand..is the type of a British Imperialist.

1972 P. Driscoll Wilby Conspiracy (1973) xiii. 163 He does a bit of IDB on the side. So what? He's a jeweller.

i.e. n. id est (Latin), that is (to say).

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [adverb] > namely or that is to say

namelya1200

i.a1300

namandlya1400

scilicet?a1425

videlicet1464

scil.a1500

viz.a1543

innuendo1564

videl.1589

sc.1607

i.e.1662

vid.1676

v.g.1678

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iii. §3. 45 He dwelt in Pethor by the river, i.e. saith the Chaldee Paraphrast, in Peor of Syria by Euphrates.

1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 22 Under favourable conditions, i.e. in the perfect State.

I.E. n. Indo-European.

1894 V. Henry Short Compar. Gram. Eng. & German v. 113 The greater part of such roots as began with the group in question exhibited already in the I.-E. period a peculiar alternation.

1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics viii. 307 The I-E language family is represented all over the world today.

I.F. n. (also i.f.) = intermediate frequency n. at intermediate adj. and n. Compounds.

1927 H. J. Round Shielded Four-electrode Valve viii. 77 It should be possible to do with only one stage of intermediate frequency on account of the gain per stage in H.F. and I.F.

1956 C. E. Tibbs & G. G. Johnstone Frequency Modulation Engin. (ed. 2) ix. 387 Second channel interference can be avoided by choosing the i.f. to be greater than half the band of frequencies to be covered.

1963 J. A. Walston Transistor Circuit Design xxiii. 321 The difference frequency (IF frequency)..must be such that the transistor will function as an amplifier.

I.F.F. n. Identification, Friend or Foe.

1945 Electronic Engin. 17 686 An I.F.F. unit can be briefly described as being a transmitter-receiver device installed in friendly aircraft whose purpose is to reply to the interrogation of the friendly Radar station.

1961 Listener 30 Nov. 909/1 The I.F.F. radar identification sets in our bombers.

I.F.R. n. Instrument Flight Rules.

1948 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 52 90/1 The biggest factor affecting reliable running is the time difference between operations under clear and low visibility conditions, C.F.R. (Contact Flight Rules) and I.F.R. (Instrument Flight Rules) as they are called.

1964 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 40/3 Under IFR, electronic navigation equipment defines the position, and facilitates landing in bad weather or at night.

I.F.S. n. = Irish Free State.

1929 Whitaker's Alm. 546/1 Money Orders. Advice of Payment: 2d. inland (and to I.F.S.).

I.G. n. = Inspector General.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.G.—Inspector General. I.G.C.—Inspector General of Communications. I.G.F.—Inspector General of Fortifications. I.G.D.—Inspector General's Department.

I.G.Y. n. International Geophysical Year.

ΚΠ

1955 Sci. News Let. 15 Jan. 42/1 Scientists from at least 39 countries, including Russia, are now making plans for coordinated research efforts during 1957–58 in a world-wide investigation of the earth, its seas and air. The many-pronged attack, aimed at a better understanding of the planet we live on, is known as the International Geophysical Year, or IGY.

1964 Economist 11 Jan. 128/3 The IGY lasted 30 months.

i.h.p n. Mechanics = indicated horse power.

ΚΠ

1894 Times 20 Sept. 4/6 With an expenditure of 110 i.h.p.

I.L.O. n. International Labour Organization.

1924 B. Webb Diary 8 Jan. (1956) i. 2 The P.M. to meet Thomas, the French head of the I.L.O. at Geneva.

1969 Listener 1 May 614/3 We're going to give legislative backing to the ILO conventions on the right to join trade unions.

I.L.P. n. Independent Labour Party.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > politics > British politics > British party politics > [noun] > Labourism > Labour Party > Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party1888

I.L.P.1893

1893 G. B. Shaw Let. 24 Apr. (1965) I. 390 My remarks..were not levelled at the I.L.P.

1899 Westm. Gaz. 28 Feb. 2/3 The I.L.P. policy kept a sufficient number of Tory working men from voting to allow the Liberal nominee to slip in.

1917 A. Huxley Let. 12 Nov. (1969) 136 I suppose it would pain the poor Duke too much if he sat in Parliament as a member of the I.L.P.

1924 Glasgow Herald 5 Apr. 9 He had had to work on many committees during his time in public life, including committees of branches of the I.L.P.

1932 W. H. Auden Orators iii. 104 The Simonites, the Mosleyites and the I.L.P.

1946 A. Koestler Thieves in Night ii. 91 Max, who has an enormous, sniffing tapir-nose and an unkempt I.L.P.-mane.

1959 Listener 22 Jan. 179/3 A number of intellectuals and I.L.P-ers.

I.L.S. n. Instrument Landing System.

1947 Shell Aviation News No. 108. 3/1 I.L.S. (Instrument Landing System), G.C.A. (Ground Control Approach), ground radar and flight radar are all proven, available, and should be installed.

1966 New Scientist 13 Jan. 65/1 The special Trident has been trying the ILS of other airports,..and has actually made ‘hands-off’ landings at them.

I.M.C.O. n. Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization.

1954 Chambers's Encycl. World Survey 42/2 The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO).

1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 6/2 After the Torrey Canyon disaster the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) turned to the machinery of the international convention on safety of life at sea to try to establish rules that would ease the threat of pollution.

I.M.F. n. International Monetary Fund.

ΚΠ

1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (rev. ed.) ix. 330 The main purpose of the I.M.F...is to provide countries that have deficits with the foreign currencies they require to cover those deficits.

1965 New Statesman 23 Apr. 632/2 A determination to invoke the scarce currency clause in the IMF agreement to legalise discrimination against chronically surplus countries.

I.M.N.S. n. = Imperial Military Nursing Service.

ΚΠ

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.M.N.S.—Imperial Military Nursing Service.

I/O n. Computing input/output.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > data > database > data entry > [noun] > input or output

input–output1914

I/O1964

1964 CIS Gloss. Automated Typesetting (Composition Information Services) 19 Input-output (I/O), a general term for the equipment used to communicate with a computer and the data involved in the communication.

1977 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 42 The disparity in the speed of electromechanical I/O and electronic components resulted in ineffective use of the more expensive resources.

1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 163/1 It also includes ‘I/O redirection’ and ‘pipes’.

I.P. n. = Intelligence Police.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. x I.P.—Intelligence Police.

I.P.A. n. International Phonetic Alphabet (or Association).

1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. vi. 103 There has arisen a convention of transcribing British English, not by the symbols..in accord with the principles of the IPA alphabet.

1954 M. A. Pei & F. Gaynor Dict. Linguistics 105 I.P.A. The International Phonetic Alphabet.

1961 Amer. Speech 36 201 The modified IPA symbols used in the [linguistic] Atlas.

1970 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1968 l. 5 The phonetic notation used in transcribing the responses of the informants is..a finely graded phonetic alphabet based on that of the IPA.

i.p.s. n. inches per second.

1959 W. S. Sharps Dict. Cinematogr. 104/2 I.P.S., abbreviation for inches per second.

1968 Times 29 Nov. p. ii/1 The rise of the tape recorder was attested by the publication of commercial tapes at 7½ i.p.s.

I.Q. n. intelligence quotient (see intelligence quotient n.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > [noun] > measured degree of intelligence

intelligence quotient1913

G1915

mental ratio1921

I.Q.1922

1922 R. S. Woodworth Psychol. xii. 274 Brightness or dullness can also be measured by the intelligence quotient, which is employed so frequently that it is customarily abbreviated to ‘I.Q.’

1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Mar. 230/3 Faith, insight and enthusiasm are more important than all the I.Qs in the world.

1948 A. Huxley Let. 3 June (1969) 582 Cecil Burt sees a drop in the average intelligence of the British population..of 5 IQ points before the end of the present century.

1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 150 Any man in the infantry or cavalry who has a good I.Q. is sure to have his name turned up..whenever a new typist is needed.

1968 Scottish Daily Mail 16 July 2/1 The questionnaire is a tongue-in-cheek parody of the IQ tests which the U.S. Government gives would-be employees.

1972 Science 20 Oct. 232/2 The IQ tests ignore much in us that is artistic, contemplative, and nonverbal.

I.R. n. infra-red.

1957 Which? Autumn 7/2 An investigation into the effects, on bottle-makers, of the infra-red and ultra-violet (often referred to as I.R. and U.V.) radiations.

1967 Electronics 40 127/1 A scope tracing that shows i-r energy as a curve derived from the video signal, with the amount of energy determining vertical deflection.

I.R.A. n. (a) individual retirement account (U.S.); (b) Irish Republican Army.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [noun] > other investment funds

investment fund1784

investment vehicle1920

I.R.A.1921

no-load1963

hedge fund1966

swap fund1966

offshore fund1969

roll-up fund1983

tokkin1985

PEP1986

rolled-up1987

1921 G. B. Shaw Matter with Ireland (1962) 245 The I.R.A. is flushed with success.

1932 Morning Post 23 Aug. 10/3 A force of 200 men of the I.R.A. have seized Donamon Castle.

1939 J. B. Priestley Let People Sing ii. 24 So they thought he was the I.R.A., eh? That explained the bomb, of course.

1959 New Statesman 7 Nov. 615/2 The IRA is now really discredited; young men in the dreary pubs which offer the only way out of the drearier provincial towns of Ireland must find other amusements than plotting.

1971 Guardian 11 Aug. 10/2 The IRA and the Provisionals use the South as a sanctuary.

1974 Forbes 15 Nov. 139/1 Moneymen call these new pension plans IRAs (individual retirement accounts).

1984 Sun (Gainsville, Florida) 3 Apr. 6 b/3 It's been just two years since nearly everybody was invited to open an individual retirement account (IRA), but it's time to assess..how skillfully you're exploiting this tax shelter.

I.R.B.M. n. intermediate range ballistic missile.

1957 Economist 30 Nov. 774/2 IRBMs are to begin flowing to Europe by late 1958.

1960 Economist 30 July 460/3 In April the official defence policy was laid in ruins with the abandonment of Britain's IRBM, Blue Streak.

I.R.O. n. International Refugee Organization.

1947 Times 15 May 5/7 Resettlement will still remain one of the main functions of the I.R.O.

1948 Hansard Commons 11 Mar. 1531/1 I.R.O. consented to act as our agents.

1955 Sci. Amer. Jan. 95/1 IRO (International Refugee Organization).

I.R.S. n. Internal Revenue Service (U.S.).

ΚΠ

1963 Listener 7 Mar. 412/1 The I.R.S. takes good care that the United States citizen abroad knows just where he stands, taxwise.

1964 Financial Times 12 Mar. 24/3 The attitude of the I.R.S. in 1958, after they had caught up with Mr. Wilson, was to say: ‘We're not concerned with your troubles.’

1972 New York Law Jrnl. 22 Aug. 4/4 (heading) IRS issues rulings on political dinners.

ISBN n. International Standard Book Number; cf. SBN n. at S n.¹ Initialisms 1.

ΘΠ

society > communication > book > book list > [noun] > action of listing or cataloguing books > systems of numbering

book number1856

SBN1967

ISBN1969

1969 Proc. Internat. Assoc. Technol. Univ. Libraries Dec. 51 Every book is labelled by an ISBN and each edition, each binding..allotted its own ISBN.

1986 Bookseller 3 May 1776 (advt.) Where to Fish..£11.95 net..Printed case. ISBN 0-948807-00-8. Heavily illustrated.

I.S.C. n. Indian Staff Corps.

1899 Who's Who 680/1 Late Colonel C. M. Moberly, I.S.C.

I.S.O. n. (a) Imperial Service Order; (b) International Organization for Standardization.

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 340/1 The members of the order have the distinction of adding the letters I.S.O. after their names.

1909 Whitaker's Almanack 118 Thos. H. Sanderson Sanderson, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., I.S.O.

1947 N.Y. Times 2 Nov. 22/6 Howard Coonley..has been elected president of the new International Organization for Standardization, formation of which has been completed by delegates from twenty-five nations meeting in London... Gustave L. Gerard..has been chosen vice president of the new organization which will be known informally as ISO.

1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–9 400/1 The equipment covered by this plan is standard ISO 20 ft steel containers with fork-lift pockets, and standard 40 ft ISO aluminium containers.

IT n. information technology.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > [noun]

communications technology1941

communication technology1950

information technology1952

computer science1956

computery1960

cyberculture1963

computerdom1968

infotech1981

IT1982

society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines > technology for disseminating information

information technology1952

IT1982

1982 Times 14 Jan. (Information Technol. Suppl.) p. iv/6 Teletext and personal computers are IT, but Hollywood movies on a video machine are probably not.

1983 Listener 21 Apr. 38/1 IT includes banking and shopping via your television set.

I.T.A. n. Independent Television Authority.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > organization or service

television station1926

television network1930

TV station1945

TV network1947

channel1952

Independent Television (Authority)1954

I.T.A.1955

I.T.V.1958

side1961

Channel 41964

MTV1981

1955 Ann. Reg. 1954 385 While viewing through I.T.A. stations would not be possible for some time, competitive bidding for ‘stars’ went on actively.

1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 1 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 There is a distinction to be drawn..between the ITA and independent television (ITV). The ITA is the Authority, the public corporation set up by the Television Act, 1954: independent television comprises not only the ITA but also the programme companies.

I.T.A. n. (also i.t.a.) initial teaching alphabet.

1965 Guardian 2 Feb. 3/8 Mr Gordon Walker.., adviser to the ITA foundation,..would have to learn more about the initial teaching alphabet.

1967 New Statesman 6 Oct. All the mothers know everything about O- and A-levels, have taken the measure of the 11-plus.., and some have heard of i.t.a.

I.T.U. n. International Telecommunication Union.

ΚΠ

1950 Chambers's Encycl. XI. 470/1 The International Telecommunations Union (I.T.U.).

1962 B.B.C. Handbk. 113 The BBC also participates in the work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations with its headquarters in Geneva.

I.T.V. n. Independent Television.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > organization or service

television station1926

television network1930

TV station1945

TV network1947

channel1952

Independent Television (Authority)1954

I.T.A.1955

I.T.V.1958

side1961

Channel 41964

MTV1981

1958 ‘A. Gilbert’ Death against Clock 93 All they talk about is what they saw on ITV last night.

1958 Spectator 27 June 827/3 As the General Election approaches, both BBC and ITV must know where they stand.

1969 Listener 24 Apr. 559/3 While shepherds washed their socks by night And turned on ITV, The Angel of the Lord came down And switched on BBC.

I.U. n. (also i.u.) international unit.

1950 Chambers's Encycl. XIV. 347/2 The League of Nations standard or requirement for vitamin B₁ is 300 I.U. per day.

1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 339/1 The chief food value of apricots lies in their roughage and in their vitamin A content—approximately 1,000 i.u. per serving.

1962 Lancet 6 Jan. 12/1 A small bottle..of some 60 ml. capacity, filled to the top with normal saline and containing 1000 i.u. of heparin.

I.U.D. n. (also I.U.C.D.) intrauterine (contraceptive) device.

1963 New Scientist 19 Dec. 716/3 A simple, cheap, safe and effective method of birth control..known as IUCDs (intrauterine contraceptive devices).

1965 New Scientist 27 May 606/3 When as occasionally happens, conception occurs and gestation proceeds with the IUD in situ, [etc.].

1966 New Statesman 18 Mar. 370/1 The IUCD consists of a small loop or coil of plastic material which is inserted into the uterus.

1967 Time 7 Apr. 73 The IUD's underlying principle traces back to an old practice of Arab cameleers: putting a round, smooth stone in the womb of a female camel at the start of a long trade journey, to avoid the economic loss of having the animal get pregnant.

1973 Guardian 29 June 13/3 With the nationalisation of birth control virtually every GP in the country will be inserting IUDs.

I.V. adv. (also i.v.) intravenous(ly); also as n., an intravenous drip, injection, etc.

1951 Dorland's Med. Dict. (ed. 22) 766/2 I.V., abbreviation for intravenously (by intravenous injection).

1961 Amer. Speech 36 145 I.V.,..an intravenous infusion.

1970 New Yorker 21 Nov. 64/2 One of the doctors from Surgery will be coming down soon to put in your I.V. and a stomach tube.

1971 Guardian Weekly 24 Apr. 5/1 The bedside IV feeding bottle.

1972 Nature 8 Dec. 351/1 3 African green monkeys were inoculated i.c. (0·2 ml.) and i.v. (0·3 ml.).

I.W.W. n. Industrial Worker(s) of the World.

1917 B. Hall Diary 25 July in B. Hall & J. J. Niles One Man's War (1929) 278 The Government had some trouble in Los Angeles with the I.W.W.

1919 H. L. Wilson Ma Pettengill vii. 212 Even the youngest [girl]..had tenaciously held out for a grown man's pay, which made her something even worse than a Bolshevik; it made her an I.W.W.

1920 M. Beer Hist. Brit. Socialism II. iv. xviii. 356 Similar views..led in 1905 to the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.).

1920 P. G. Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xxi. 251 Regular I.W.W. stuff.

1923 E. A. Ross Russ. Soviet Republ. 250 The I.W.W. longshoremen of Philadelphia and New York refused to load ships with munitions for Wrangel.

1931 U. Sinclair Rom. Holiday xxv I recognized the I.W.W. lumberjack, the only giant in the crowd.

1957 Encounter Apr. 65/1 That strange and unique contribution of America to anarcho-syndicalism, the ‘Wobblies’ (officially the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW..) organised great masses of unskilled workers and led strikes..that were as much social rebellions as economic conflicts.

1969 Taft & Ross in Graham & Gurr Violence in Amer. viii. 285 Unlike the other national federations.., the IWW advocated direct action and sabotage.

I.Y. n. Imperial Yeomanry.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. x I.Y.—Imperial Yeomanry.

Draft additions June 2017

ILTF now historical International Lawn Tennis Federation, the governing body organizing world tennis.

ΚΠ

1920 Amer. Lawn Tennis 15 Apr. 4/2 It was unanimously agreed by those present that the I. L. T. F. should have the power to alter the Laws of the Game.

2015 R. J. Lake Social Hist. Tennis in Brit. v. 87 The formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) in March 1913 brought new challenges.

ITF International Tennis Federation, the governing body organizing world tennis, including beach and wheelchair tennis.

1977 Washington Post 3 Aug. d6/3 The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will send a delegation to South Africa in November.

1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 29 Apr. 20/6 Under ITF rules, a female tennis player must play in the Fed Cup for at least two years in the four years from 1993 to 1996.

2008 M. Frost Amer. Doubles 162 Wheelchair Doubles has become more popular due to a 1998 rule adopted by both the ITF and the USTA.

Draft additions 1997

ISDN n. = integrated services digital network n. at integrated adj. Additions.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > telecommunication > [adjective] > types of link or network

ship-to-ship1904

two-way1922

ship-to-shore1923

multichannel1930

multipath1936

multi-channelled1950

store-and-forward1963

terrestrial1968

ISDN1974

society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > link or network > types of

star1924

star network1924

data link1953

downlink1963

uplink1968

integrated services digital network1974

ISDN1974

UMTS1990

1974 Internat. Conf. Communications (Inst. Electr. & Electronic Engineers) 33 e-1 An integrated services digital network (ISDN) is a network in which the various services such as telephony, data and telex use the same switching and transmission facilities.

1986 E. L. Scace in T. C. Bartee Digital Communications iii. 87 One part evolution, one part revolution, and one part philosophy, ISDNs represent a unique historical development.

1993 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 30/7 Now..network operators worldwide have in place national ISDN services..which are simple to use, simple to install and simple to run.

1993 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 30/8 Britain's ISDN network is already connected to 12 other countries.

Draft additions 1993

INF n. intermediate-range nuclear force(s); cf. TNF n. at T n. Additions.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [adjective] > nuclear > qualities of

clean1956

low-yield1957

strategic1957

tactical1957

small-yield1959

theatre1977

INF1981

1981 Washington Post 14 Nov. a13/3 The TNF talks on European-based missiles are increasingly being referred to as the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) talks.

1983 Time 31 Jan. 22/2 Some who know him suggest that Nitze is now driven to achieve an INF treaty as a sort of final professional capstone.

1987 P.-H. Renard in R. Trapp Chemical Weapon Free Zones? 96 They have never been the subject of arms control negotiations, as opposed to conventional (MBFR) or nuclear (INF) arms.

INLA n. Irish National Liberation Army, formed in the mid-1970s as the military wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > warriors collectively > paramilitary groups spec. > [noun]

U.V.F.1913

squadra1922

Sturmabteilung1923

steel helmet1925

Schutzbund1927

new guard1932

Silver Shirts1934

Stern gang1944

Umkhonto we Sizwe1961

nahal1963

MK1964

Provisional I.R.A.1970

Black September1971

Red Brigade1971

Black Septembrist1972

U.D.A.1972

Symbionese Liberation Army1973

U.F.F.1973

Amal1976

death squad1976

INLA1979

society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [noun] > societies or associations

levellers1762

Hearts of Steel1771

Peep o' Day Boys1780

Rightboys1786

Brunswick Club1828

Orange Order1828

Young Ireland1843

Land league1881

U.I.L.1901

Noraid1974

U.U.U.C.1974

INLA1979

1979 Irish Times 2 Apr. 1/3 Sources say that the INLA is known to include men who are held responsible for much of the 1972 violence.

1983 Listener 19 May 8/3 The most important Provisional to have gone over to the INLA last year is Dominic McGlinchey from Bellaghy in County Londonderry.

1992 Independent 15 Apr. 3/2 In 1990, another INLA man—later reported to be an informer—was killed by undercover troops in an attack on the home of a member of the security forces.

I.O.C. n. International Olympic Committee.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > judging or umpiring > [noun] > umpire or referee > specific group

I.O.C.1938

1938 Olympische Rundschau (Berlin) Oct. 36 Mr. J. W. Rangell has been elected second representative of Finland on the IOC.

1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports xx. 247 According to the I.O.C., its members are not ‘representatives’ of their nations but ‘delegates from’ that nation to the I.O.C. and delegates to their nations from the I.O.C.

1991 Business Traveller Jan. 33/1 So endemic has drug-taking become among modern athletes that the IOC will have a flying laboratory ready for testing the Olympic class of 1992.

IVF n. in vitro fertilization (esp. of human ova).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > fecundation or impregnation > [noun] > techniques for facilitating

IVF1978

gamete intrafallopian transfer1984

GIFT1984

ZIFT1988

1978 BioScience 28 685/1 Members of the new HEW Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) seemed ready to approve the only human IVF research application now awaiting funding at the National Institute of Health.

1990 Sunday Correspondent 6 May 3/3 An interim licensing authority..says the Government is throwing away an opportunity to reduce the IVF death rate.

Draft additions September 2003

IAP n. Computing = internet access provider n. at internet n. Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1994 IAP Wish List in alt.internet.services (Usenet newsgroup) 1 May IAP wish list... If you can spare the time, would you mind jotting down a few things along the theme of what you would want from an Internet Access Provider.

1999 L. Lessig & P. Resnick in S. E. Gillett & I. Vogelsang Competition, Regulation, & Convergence ix. 149 The responsibility for assuring a supply of sender labels might be assigned to intermediaries, in this case to the sender's IAP.

Draft additions December 2005

IBS n. Medicine = irritable bowel syndrome at irritable adj. Additions c.

ΚΠ

1977 Amer. Jrnl. Clin. Nutrition 30 1597 Lactose malabsorption may play a role in the symptoms in the population of some patients with IBS.

1985 Scand. Jrnl. Gastroenterol. 20 Suppl. cix. 107 About five per cent of the adult population each year will see their doctor with complaints that are finally characterised as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

2000 Healthy Living Feb. 44/2 In a German IBS study, patients who took a homeopathic dose of the herb Asafoetida experienced vastly greater relief than did those administered a placebo.

Draft additions December 2005

ICU n. Medicine (originally U.S.) intensive care unit.

ΚΠ

1959 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Nov. 103/1 When a patient is in critical condition, or for some other reason needs constant watching by professional nurses, the patient is sent to ICU.

2001 L. Voss To be Someone 64 This was the hospital they brought her to because it has an ICU and plastic surgery.

Draft additions December 2006

IDP n. = internally displaced person at internally adv. Compounds.

1993 E. Mihalkanin in R. F. Gorman Refugee Aid & Devel. vi. 88 The civil war created approximately 620,000 IDPs by 1984.

2006 Africa News (Nexis) 22 Feb. The..protracted 18-year war..has obliterated the physical and economic infrastructure and confined more than a million people in IDP camps surviving on donor aid and handouts.

Draft additions September 2008

IED n. improvised explosive device.

1971 R. G. Lunger & R. L. Warren Validation of Colt-Tabor Bomb Baskets (Picatinny Arsenal Techn. Rep. No. 4303) iii. 3 The U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel do not have protective equipment for handling, removing, and transporting IED’s.

1987 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 8 Apr. 10/4 Experiments in Northern Ireland had shown the makers of IEDs were so proud of their work they left their initials on the bombs.

2007 Atlantic Monthly June 91/2 Their new drill sergeants gather in the shade, trading stories about IEDs and RPG attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Draft additions September 2006

IMEI n. Telecommunications International Mobile Equipment Identity, a number unique to a GSM mobile phone and usually printed on it, comprising information that can identify the instrument to the network; frequently attributive.

ΚΠ

1991 FITCE Jrnl. No. 4. 33/1 The Equipment Identity Register is a logical entity within the GSM system, which is responsible for storing the International Mobile station Equipment identities (IMEI).

2001 Daily Tel. 11 Jan. i. 11/8 The easiest way to improve phone security would be for all mobile phone networks to use an electronic fingerprint, a so called IMEI code.

2005 2600 Summer 50/2 Do you have an old T-mobile phone that you want on prepaid without paying for the activation?.. All you need is the SIM card number, the IMEI number of the phone, and a prepaid airtime card.

Draft additions March 2003

IMHO adv. (also imho) colloquial (used chiefly in electronic communications) in my humble opinion; (occasionally also) in my honest opinion.

ΚΠ

1984 Re: Info wanted on Beta Tapes in net.video (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Feb. The Sony and Maxell tapes are, imho [in my honest opinion], almost indistinguishable in quality, and are the only kind I buy now.

1993 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 2) 236 IMHO, mixed-case C names should be avoided, as mistyping something in the wrong case can cause hard-to-detect errors.

2001 D. Mitchell Number 9 Dream 51 A decent rain will bring hundreds of umbrellas. Not the most inspiring job, but it beats leaping around a garage forecourt or delivering pizzas, imho.

Draft additions March 2003

IMO adv. (also imo) colloquial (used chiefly in electronic communications) in my opinion.

ΚΠ

1989 Re: DECwindows: does it use DECnet, TCP or Both? in comp.windows.x (Usenet newsgroup) 18 Jan. DEC is finally beginning to get serious (IMO) about competing in the real world workstation market.

1997 J. Seabrook Deeper v. 174 To propagate idiocy regarding e-mail as viruses.., is, IMO, aggressively and dangerously stupid, not charmingly naive.

2003 Re: Latif vs Gilly in rec.sport.cricket (Usenet newsgroup) 13 Feb. [He] said that he was happy with the resolution. Time to move on, imo.

Draft additions October 2001

IP n. Computing = Internet Protocol n. at internet n. Compounds 3; frequently attributive.

ΚΠ

1979 J. B. Postel Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 758. 3 In the Internet Protocol (IP) (44) there is a field to identify the next level protocol... This field is called Protocol in the IP header.

1992 UNIX Today! 17 Feb. 56/3 Other sources of public IP networking have started up in the U.K.

1997 J. Seabrook Deeper v. 161 To move around the computers, you had to know their names, or their IP addresses.

2000 Times 3 Aug. (Appointments Network Executive section) 1/2 (advt.) A UK network giving customers access to one of the world's largest IP backbones.

Draft additions July 2002

IPA n. = India pale ale n. at India n. 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > beer > [noun] > other kinds of beer

spruce beerc1500

March beer1535

Lubecks beer1608

zythum1608

household beer1616

bottle1622

mumc1623

old beer1626

six1631

four1633

maize beer1663

mum beer1667

vinegar beer1677

wrest-beer1689

nog1693

October1705

October beer1707

ship-beer1707

butt beer1730

starting beer1735

butt1743

peterman1767

seamen's beer1795

chang1800

treacle beer1806

stock beer1826

Iceland beer1828

East India pale ale1835

India pale ale1837

faro1847

she-oak1848

Bass1849

bitter beer1850

bock1856

treble X1856

Burton1861

nettle beer1864

honey beer1867

pivo1873

Lambic1889

steam beer1898

barley-beer1901

gueuze1926

Kriek1936

best1938

rough1946

keg1949

IPA1953

busaa1967

mbege1972

microbrew1985

microbeer1986

yeast-beer-

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > ale > [noun] > other ales

strawberry ale1523

red ale1557

sixteens1584

bottle ale1586

hostler ale1590

Pimlico1609

eyebright1612

quest-ale1681

hugmatee1699

Newcastle brown (ale)1707

pale ale1708

twopenny ale (or beer)1710

twoops1729

flux ale1742

pale1743

Ringwood1759

brown ale1776

light ale1780

blue cap1789

brown1820

India pale ale1837

Tipper1843

ostler ale1861

fourpenny ale1871

four-ale1883

ninepenny1886

Scotch1886

barley wine1940

IPA1953

light1953

real ale1972

?a1880 Label: Phillips & Wigan, Mortlake Brewery Bodl. Libr., John Johnson Coll.: Labels, Box 13 Please cork & return cask when empty. E.I.P.A. [i.e. East India Pale Ale].]

1953 Word for Word (Whitbread & Co.) 23/1 India Pale Ale (I.P.A.), name originally given to a fine pale ale made for export to troops in India.

1957 J. Braine Room at Top xxx. 247 ‘Will you have a drink with me?’ ‘IPA, please.’

2001 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 22 Nov. g3/1 Every brewery produces either an IPA or an American pale ale.

Draft additions January 2005

IPO n. Stock Market = initial public offering n. at initial adj. and n. Additions.

ΚΠ

1976 Barron's National Business & Financial Weekly 19 July 3/1 The flow of IPOs, while still below the frantic pace of 1969, is running well ahead of last year.

2001 Financial Director Feb. 28/3 He was anticipating taking on another IPO or turnaround opportunity.

Draft additions July 2002

IRC n. Computing = Internet Relay Chat n. at internet n. Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1989 Re: Multiparty, Real-time, Lightweight Sequenced Communications in comp.sources.d (Usenet newsgroup) 10 Feb. I have recently got ahold of a program called irc (Internet Relay Chat).

1993 Mixmag Apr. 34/1 IRC..enables people to deconstruct aspects of their own identity, and to challenge and obscure the boundaries between some of our most deeply felt cultural significances.

1995 Guardian 24 Mar. 3/4 As my screen oozes with IRC pickup lines, I wonder whether it's worth it to stick around.

2000 ‘Dr. K.’ Compl. Hacker's Handbk. v. 53 The moment you show your nick on an IRC channel like #hack or #phreak you will be making yourself a target for all sorts of mischief.

Draft additions July 2002

ISP n. Computing = internet service provider n. at internet n. Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1992 InfoWorld 14 Sept. 62 ISPs are the data network equivalent of telephone companies, providing access to the main Internet network for end-users. You will need to contact an ISP in order to use the Internet.

1997 Independent 5 Aug. (Network Plus section) 7/1 Most ISP and academic institutions run web caches, so if you want to do your bit to reduce Internet congestion, use it!

2001 Contact May 66/3 You'll have the choice of entering your own settings to use the machine with an existing web account, or of setting up a connection to a new ISP.

Draft additions December 2005

ITU n. Medicine (chiefly British). intensive treatment (also therapy) unit.

ΚΠ

1970 Nursing Times 5 Nov. 1471/1 An ITU containing five beds was opened in May.

1998 G. Adams Casualty (BBC TV production draft) 13th Ser. Episode 6. 44 They evacuated it in theatre and he's up in ITU.

Draft additions March 2009

IVM n. Medicine and Biology in vitro maturation, a technique used in assisted reproductive technology in which eggs are harvested at an immature stage and brought to maturity in culture before being fertilized and implanted.

ΚΠ

1988 Theriogenol. 29 243 Embryos were generated by in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and culture of ova aspirated from 1-5 mm diameter follicles of slaughterhouse ovaries.

2002 P. Cunningham in K. Schellander et al. Genomics & Biotechnol. Livestock Breeding 4 Problems which remain to be overcome include..culture regimes for consistent success in IVM/IVF; and attaining acceptable fertility rates with frozen semen.

2007 Daily Tel. 25 Oct. 3/2 The boy and girl were born a week ago after they were conceived through doctors using in vitro maturation (IVM)—a technique that is quicker, safer and cheaper than traditional IVF.

Draft additions April 2010

ICSI n.

Brit.

/ˈɪksi/

U.S.

/ˈɪksi/

Medicine and Biology intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a method of in vitro fertilization in which a single sperm is introduced into the cytoplasm of an egg through a micropipette.

ΚΠ

1992 G. Palermo et al. in Lancet 4 July 17 Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a promising assisted-fertilisation technique that may benefit women who have not become pregnant by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) or subzonal insemination (SUZI) of oocytes.

2004 New Scientist 30 Oct. 11/1 There have been claims that a penile abnormality called hypospadias is more common in ICSI children.

2009 Mirror (Nexis) 8 Sept. 38 We had four attempts at ICSI and..the emotional and financial pressures were beginning to take their toll.

Draft additions June 2016

ICT n. information and communications technology; (also as a count noun) a product or technology relating to this.

1986 R. E. Mansell & B. J. Richards Information & Communication Technol. II. p. xii Individuals working in the information technology applications area have been included if they reflected an interest in the social science aspects of ICT.

2002 Jrnl. Managem. & Med. 16 189 ICTs therefore include equipment such as radio, telephone and fax..spanning a continuum from the more ‘low-tech’ to the more ‘high-tech’.

2015 Illawarra Mercury (Austral.) (Nexis) 30 Apr. 17 Showcase this region as a rapidly growing ICT hub with an abundance of smart businesses and tech-savvy young talent.

Draft additions June 2016

IIRC adv. (also iirc, iIrc) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) if I recall (or remember) correctly.

ΚΠ

1990 Re: Chiapucci didn't use tri-bars!? in rec.bicycles (Usenet newsgroup) 25 July Disc wheels—used by Francesco Moser for pushing the 1 hour TT record over the 50 km/h level, beginning of '84, i.I.r.c.?!

1997 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 15 Mar. IIRC—If I Recall Correctly.

2014 @earthdyedred 31 Jan. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) The Planetary Folklore album which, IIRC, is the only single album I've ever paid over $18 for.

Draft additions June 2016

ICYMI adv. (also icymi) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) in case you missed it.

ΚΠ

2000 in alt.music.billy-joel (Usenet newsgroup) 20 July (subject line) Billy Joel on the Onion (ICYMI).

2006 Hill (Nexis) 25 Jan. 43 The practice of sending out such positive-spin e-mails is not just in Ney's office... In some offices it has become so commonplace that they use the abbreviation ICYMI (‘in case you missed it’).

2015 Adweek (U.S.) 6 Apr. 14/1 There's a dirty little secret..in our industry. ICYMI, Patricia Arquette gave it a shout-out at this year's Oscars—the gender pay gap.

Draft additions June 2016

IRL adv. (also irl) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) in real life; in the physical world, rather than online or in a virtual environment.

ΚΠ

1988 Hershey Fonts in comp.sources.wanted (Usenet newsgroup) 18 Jan. INTERNET: msn@bikini.cis.ufl.edu I.R.L. Michael S. Newsome. 3632 NW 4th Pl. [etc.].

1993 H. Rheingold in L. M. Harasim Global Networks iv. 63 I remember the first time I walked into a room full of people (IRL) whose faces were completely unknown to me, but who knew many intimate details of my history and whose own stories I knew very well.

2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 June c3/1 The young revel in new gadgets... They beg for them in acronym-laden speeches because OMG, you need this stuff to be cool IRL.

Draft additions June 2016

IDK v. (also idk) colloquial (chiefly in electronic communications) I don't know.

ΚΠ

1931 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Aug. 326/1 Miss Susan Lawrence said she regarded with some liking the doctor who, as reported by Mr. Meller, wrote ‘I.D.K.’ (I don't know) on a certificate.

1990 Re: Multimedia in comp.sys.amiga (Usenet newsgroup) 26 Apr. You can..(dont ask me how..) send in data to a company (which, you ask? i don't know) and have it transferred onto CD ROMs relatively cheaply..(relative to what? IDK).

2013 Daily Cardinal (Univ. Wisconsin) (Nexis) 24 Oct. (Page-Two section) 1 Some claim absence makes the heart grow fonder. Idk about that though.

Draft additions June 2016

IDC v. (also idc) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) I don't care.

ΚΠ

1989 Re: Thought Exper. about News.Groups in news.admin (Usenet newsgroup) 2 June When you call for votes there's more than just a YES or NO involved. There's a third category: I Don't Care (IDC).

1997 J. Suzanne Twins go to College ix. 104 Elizabeth put down her spoon. ‘So where's Susan?’ she wanted to know. ‘IDK and IDC,’ Jessica said smugly.

2011 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 13 Aug. a17 Ravi indicated that Mr. Clementi's orientation did not bother him. In one exchange, he wrote, ‘I'm not really angry or sad idc.’

Draft additions June 2017

I-formation n. (a) American Football an offensive formation in which the quarterback and two or more running backs (typically a fullback and a tailback) form a line behind the ball, at right angles to the line of scrimmage; (b) Tennis a formation in doubles matches in which the server stands close to the centre mark on the baseline and his or her partner stands close to the centre service line.

1951 Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News 24 Mar. 10/8 (heading) V.M.I. grid coach has ‘I’ formation. Abolishes fullback post, uses three halfbacks.

1970 N.Y. Times 13 July 33/8 The former football player appeared unfamiliar with doubles play. ‘Stay there, stay there,’ Mr. FitzGibbon kept calling to his partner. ‘We're in the “I” formation.’

2014 N.Y. Times 3 Jan. (Late ed.) b9/5 I loved the I-formation, running full speed and hitting people.

2016 G. Marzorati Late to Ball xli. 200 There was no strategizing to our game—no talk of serving out of an I formation.

Draft additions January 2018

ICC n. International Law International Criminal Court.

ΚΠ

1943 Draft Convent. for Creation of Internat. Criminal Court Art. 4 in Free World (1944) Feb. 188/2 The I.C.C. is deemed for the purpose of this Convention a Criminal Court common to all nations.

1992 World Today Feb. 31/2 An ICC would need to be backed up by an international law-enforcement agency.

2017 D. Cubie Internat. Legal Protection of Persons Humanitarian Crises vii. 219 The ICC has jurisdiction in respect of war crimes.

Draft additions January 2018

ICJ n. International Law International Court of Justice.

ΚΠ

1947 Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law 41 134 It was urged that the United States support the ICJ in various ways.

1992 P. W. Birnie & A. E. Boyle Internat. Law & Environment ix. iii. 360 The ICJ declined to decide whether atmospheric tests carried out by France violated customary international law.

2017 Thai News Service (Nexis) 21 Apr. Kyiv filed a lawsuit against Russia at the ICJ for intervening militarily.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

Ipron.n.²

Brit.

/ʌɪ/, U.S.

/aɪ/

Forms: (Capitalization in Middle English examples frequently reflects the editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) 1.

α. Old English ich (Northumbrian), Old English ih (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English ig (rare), Old English–Middle English ic, late Old English–early Middle English hic, late Old English–early Middle English icc, late Old English–Middle English yc, early Middle English Hic, early Middle English Hit (transmission error), early Middle English hyc, early Middle English Ic, early Middle English Icc, early Middle English ick (northern), early Middle English Iic, early Middle English Ik (east midlands and northern), early Middle English it (transmission error), early Middle English yg, Middle English ik (chiefly east midlands and northern), Middle English ike (east midlands and northern), Middle English yk; Scottish pre-1700 ic, pre-1700 ik. eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 34/2 Conuenio, ic groetu.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xvi. 11 Quare non intellegitis quia non de pane dixi uobis cauete a fermento pharisaeorum : forhon ne oncneu ge forðon ne of hlafe sægdig iuh behaldas ge from darste uel from ðærfe ðæra aldra.OE (Northumbrian) Rushw. Gospels: John i. 34 Et ego ueni et testimonium perhibui quia hic est filius dei electus : & ic com & cyðnisse uel witnisse ih gitrymede forðon ðes is sunu godes lufende.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 55 Ic hyne cann, & gif ic secge þæt ic hine ne cunne, ic beo leas.lOE Writ of Edward the Confessor (Sawyer 1121) in F. E. Harmer Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952) 344 And icc wille & fæstlice bebeode be fulre wite þæt þeos mundbyrdnesse beo strang & staþelfæst.lOE Will of Ælfgifu (Sawyer 1484) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 20 And ig an Ælfwæræ miræ swystær eallæs þæs þæ ic hiræ alenæð hæfdæ.lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 15 Hic wondrie þin, hwi þu secge þæt þu gode nawiht gelices nyte.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 13 Icc hafe wennd inn till enn-glissh. Godd spelless hallȝhe lare.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 13 Þenne sende ic eou rihte widerunge and ic eou wille ȝeuan wela.a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 60 To nyme bote ig am redy. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 304 For..noble shrud, Þat hic haue youen hire to offte; Hic haue yemed hire to softe.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 22 Ye lif yat hyc ledh.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 34 Giue me seli timinge..Queðer-so hic rede or singe.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 315 Ic wene ðat ic and eue hise wif Sulen adam bilirten.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 24797 Þis ilke tim þat ike [a1400 Gött. i] of sai.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23921 For med ik [a1400 Vesp. ic] ask a litil bon Þat ik [a1400 Vesp. i] biseke wit wordis quon.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 228 Ac I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete.c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 13 But ik [c1415 Corpus Oxf. c1430 Cambr. yk] am oold, me list no pleye for age.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 384 As ic hard say.

β. Old English (rare)–Middle English (1900s– nonstandard) i, early Middle English Hi, early Middle English hi, early Middle English Hy, early Middle English ij, early Middle English yi, early Middle English yj, early Middle English–1500s y, early Middle English– I, Middle English a (Yorkshire and Norfolk), Middle English e, Middle English hij, Middle English hy, Middle English j, Middle English Y, 1700s– a (regional), 1800s– ah (regional), 1800s– oi (regional); U.S. regional (chiefly south Midland and southern) 1800s– ah, 1800s– uh, 1900s– Ah, 1900s– Hi, 1900s– Oy, 1900s– oy, 1900s– u; English regional 1700s– a (chiefly northern and north midlands), 1800s ai (Devon), 1800s au (northern and north midlands), 1800s aye (Yorkshire), 1800s ee (northern), 1800s eh (Lancashire), 1800s eigh (Yorkshire), 1800s ha (Yorkshire), 1800s O (Yorkshire), 1800s– Aa (northern), 1800s– aa (northern), 1800s– Ah (northern and north midlands), 1800s– ah (northern and north midlands), 1800s– aw (northern and north midlands), 1800s– hah (Yorkshire), 1800s– Oi, 1800s– oi, 1900s– A (chiefly northern and north midlands), 1900s– hi (Worcestershire); Scottish pre-1700 i, pre-1700 y, pre-1700 1700s– I, pre-1700 1800s– a, 1800s– Aw, 1800s– aw, 1900s– A, 1900s– Aa, 1900s– Ah, 1900s– ah, 1900s– Eh (Dundee), 1900s– eh (Dundee), 1900s– ey (Dundee); also Irish English 1800s a' (northern), 1800s– a (northern), 1800s– Oi (southern), 1800s– oi (southern), 1900s– A (northern), 1900s– Ah (northern), 1900s– ah (northern); also Australian 1900s– Oi, 1900s– O'i, 1900s– oi. OE Cambridge Psalter (1910) cxli. 5 Considerabam ad dexteram et uidebam et non erat qui agnosceret me : ic sceawode to þære swiðran & i geseah & næs þe oncnewe me.lOE Salisbury Psalter xxix. 9 Ad te domine clamabo, et ad deum meum deprecabor : to þe hlaford i clypige & to drihtene minan ic gebidde.?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 I ne can ne I ne mai tellen alle þe wunder.a1225 Scribble (Corpus Cambr. 188) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 66 Þine mot ihc gon mayde sweete lef wine mot hi.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 283 A hwat schal i nu don?a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 Hwar ich was and hwat i dude.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 118 Hi [a1300 Jesus Oxf. Ich] ne saȝe it nocht.c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 139 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 110 Hire heþene name ne j nouȝt telle.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 309 Get ic wene I can a red. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xiv. 27 Haue ȝe trust, I [a1425 L.V. Y] am; nyl ȝe dreede [1526 Tyndale It is y, be not a frayed].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 371 Bot þarfor scaples was it a tru [a1400 Fairf. I traw] þat it had nan þan suilk als nu.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 25408 To þe mak j mi bon.c1400 J. Gower Eng. Wks. (1901) II. 486 Among the ten comandementz y rede.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 31 So hadde I spoken with hem euerichoon That I was of hir felaweshipe anon.1411 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 19 Also y be-queyth to William my son an aburioun of stele.?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 1 But a litelle y reioysed me.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 242 Yar-throuch he deyt weill I wat.1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xlii As I haue sayde (therfore) I say agayne.1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lj^v I Charles went nexte to hym.1568 ( D. Lindsay Satyre (Bannatyne) l. 2249 in Wks. (1931) II. 190 Thair is to cum a [1602 I] say ȝow, The best pairte of our play.1611 Bible (King James) Gen. ix. 9 I, behold I, establish my covenant with you.1653 W. Basse in I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 80 I care not, I, to fish in seas.1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 317 They have been all as bad as I.1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 54 I cou'd not tell Money, not I.1823 Knight's Q. Mag. 1 300 Oi say, sirree, where be'st the gwain?1825 Yorks. Garland 16 Ah can milk, kern, fother, beeak, brew, sheear, winder.1884 R. Holland Cheshire Gloss. at Oi If yo dunna tell him, oi shall.1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career xvi. 132 Sure O'i can't plaze yez anyhows.1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. iii. 79 Ah learnt all ah know 'bout pickin' de box in Polk County.1950 C. U. Gardiner in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 425/3 [Perthshire] He's aye nifferin in aboot the smiddy; A dunno what he's efter.1973 Black World Sept. 58 As i cradle the remembrance Of your softsweet shoulders.1973 Sunday Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 1 Apr. (Suppl.) 13/1 Ah on de road, Putting out me hand Like a mas in a band.1989 W. N. Herbert in Chapman 55–6 93 Whan Dundee gleikit in view Whan Eh wiz fehv.1990 Viz Oct. 6/1 'Ow would they loike it if oi came to the big city and 'ad a picnic in they gaaarden?1993 M. Sinclair Soor Plooms & Candy Balls 1 Wean, could ye get me fags, ah forgot ah hidnae any.1995 J. Barclay Paras over the Barras (2002) i. 8 Ah was too frightened tae move in case he came oot and Ah was beaten to it.

γ. late Old English (rare)–1600s ich, early Middle English ch (probably transmission error), early Middle English Hich, early Middle English hich, early Middle English icche, early Middle English ichc, early Middle English ichs, early Middle English icht, early Middle English ics, early Middle English Ih, early Middle English ih, early Middle English Ihc, early Middle English ihc, early Middle English ihic (probably transmission error), early Middle English iho (transmission error), early Middle English Iich, early Middle English iich, early Middle English yh, early Middle English–1500s ych, Middle English Ich, Middle English jch, Middle English yche, Middle English–1500s iche; English regional (south-western) 1700s–1800s ich, 1800s iche (Somerset), 1800s ichy (Dorset), 1800s ish (Devon), 1800s uch, 1800s utch, 1800s utchy (Somerset); Irish English (Wexford) 1800s ich. lOE Canterbury Psalter lxxvi. 2 Voce mea ad dominum clamavi : mid stefne mine to drihtne ich cigede uel clepode.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: John (Hatton) viii. 14 Ich wat hwanon ich [OE Corpus Cambr. ic] com, & hwider ich [OE Corpus Cambr. ic] ga.a1225 Scribble (Corpus Cambr. 188) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 66 Þine mot ihc gon mayde sweete lef wine mot hi.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 Ih ileue gode..ich ileue þet god is.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 77 Þe worde þet iho [read ihc] speke to ou of mine muþe.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 8 Þe þinges þet ich write her.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 128 Hich þe wile sigen soþe cweþes.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 867 Þar to ich helpe, God hit wot. Ne singe ih [a1300 Jesus Oxf. ich] hom no foliot.?a1300 Fox & Wolf l. 36 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 26 Be stille, ich hote, a godes nome!c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 953 Ihc habbe walke wide Bi þe se side. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 1377 Ihc haue ther-offe douthe and kare.c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. i. l. 14 Esteward ich byhulde after þe sonne, And sawe a toure, as ich trowede.c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 916 Now wyf quod he, here nys but thow and I..Leuere ich hadde to dyen on a knyf Than thee offende trewe deere wyf.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 1382 As yche vnderstonde.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail lii. l. 692 Mochel lever hadde Ich here to dye.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 135 I must haue reuerence. Why, who be ich?a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 219 Ich am not cast away.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36 With cap and knee, ich will serue thee, what should ich more declare.1575 J. Awdely Fraternitye of Vacabondes (new ed.) sig. B1 My maysters ich am an old man, and halfe blinde.1589 Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 169 Iche pray you good mother tell our young dame, Whence I am come and what is my name.a1648 T. Davies in Graphic & Hist. Illustr. (1832) I. xxii. 343 Dost thinke 'chill labor to be poore, No, no, ich have a doe..Ich will a plundring too.1658 W. Chamberlayne Loves Victory 56 Ich cant abide these Courtnowles.1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Ich, a Word us'd for I in the Western Parts of England.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 52 Ich, I... Ich am, I am... Ich 'as, I was.1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 34 In a small district containing two or three villages, among which is Kingsbury,..the use of utch for ‘I’ is still common.

δ. early Middle English his, early Middle English is; English regional (south-western) 1700s ees (Devon), 1700s es, 1700s Iss (Devon), 1700s–1800s ise, 1700s–1800s us (Somerset), 1800s Ice (Somerset), 1800s is (Cornwall), 1800s ize. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 223 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 173 Neure in helle hi com [v.r. ic ne com], ne þer ne come reche, Þach ich elches worldes wele þer me mahte feche, þet his [v.rr. ich, ic] wulle seggen on þat wise men us seiden.c1225 ( Ælfric Gram. (Worcester) 156 Praeuideo, is foresceawe [OE St. John's Oxf. ic foresceawige].1340 Ayenbite (1866) 251 Ich habbe hier be-uore y-ssewed, huer þet is [Fr. ie = je] spek of þe wyttes of þe zaule.1777–8 R. Wight Horæ Subsecivæ (MS Bodl. Eng. lang. d.66) 4 Us for I, as Ise in Somerset.1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) at Vort ‘Es thort thou coudent a vort zo;’ I thought you could not have fought so. West.1795 ‘P. Pindar’ Royal Visit Exeter i. 4 But than agan Iss can't but zay.1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 79 In the Western parts of Somersetshire, as well as in Devonshire, Ise is now used very generally for I.1843 J. O. Halliwell Coll. Pieces Dial. Zummerzet 3 Az Ice ztood thare O how my hart did quiver.1873 W. P. Williams & W. A. Jones Gloss. Somersetshire 20 Ize warrant you wunt.1876 L. L. Bonaparte in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1875–6 581 Us went at Montacute [south Somerset], means both I went and we went.

ε. Chiefly English regional (south-western) 1500s chee, 1500s–1700s che. 1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36^v Chee vore tha cham no clowne.1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. E2^v Che trow, cha taught him his lesson.a1600 T. Deloney Garland Good Will (1631) ii. sig. F3 Ah, ah, che zmell thee now man, che well know what thou art.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Keepe out, cheuore ye [1623 che vor' ye].1717 Obliging Husband 9 Che know not what you mean by numicate [= communicate] it to me.

2. Combined with a preceding or following word (usually a verb). a. Enclitic.

α. Old English -icc, Old English–early Middle English -ic, early Middle English -ih, early Middle English -yc, early Middle English -yh, early Middle English -yk, Middle English -ch, Middle English -che, Middle English -ich, Middle English -iche, Middle English -ik, Middle English -ike, Middle English -yke; see also nich adv.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 17 Ða cwæð seo duruðinen to petre, cwyst ðu, eart ðu of ðyses leorningcnihtum; Ða cwæð he, nicc [c1200 Hatton nich] ne eom ic.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 53 No lengre nulich [c1225 Bodl. nule ich] hit heolen þe.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 337 Ah natih [c1225 Bodl. nat i] hwet me makede her forte sechen..Hwi nefdich [c1225 Bodl. nefde ich] iwist hwuch weane me wes toward?c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Ellesmere) (1872) C. §4. l. 619 Lat be quod he it schal not be so theech [c1405 Hengwrt thee ich, c1415 Corpus Oxf. þeche, c1415 Lansd. þeiche, c1425 Petworth theche].a1425 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Wales 733B) (1960) A. v. l. 142 So þike [c1400 Trin. Cambr. I swere now, soþly, þat synne shal I lete].a1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Bodl.) (1869) B. v. l. 228 Þeik [c1450 Rawl. theich, c1400 Laud I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete].

β. early Middle English -i, Middle English -y; English regional (chiefly northern) 1700s–1800s -E, 1800s -e, 1800s–1900s -i. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 129 Ne ami noht crist??a1300 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Digby) (1907) l. 27 Harde gates haui gon.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 23 Wit my roc y me fede; Cani do non oyir dede.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 23 Fayrer ho [= on] lond hawy non syen..Yar for amy cummen here.a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 39 Nauy þe none harmes to heþe.c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §40. 49 Thus hauy 2 degrees.c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §1. 15 Than haddy..the ful experience.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 14892 Seint Bede so herdy telle [?a1400 Petyt so herd I telle].1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 55 Mun E maak a bit a Braad Mudder.1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) I is sometimes pronounced like E, particularly when the pronoun follows the verb, as ‘do-E’, for I do.?1851 A. Bywater Gossips 21 A! what ivver mun e do?1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorkshire Folk-talk (1911) 23 We say Ah mun cum (I must come), whereas ‘must I come?’ would be expressed by mun ĭ cum?

γ. English regional (Somerset) 1800s -ees, 1800s -es, 1800s -ez. 1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 34 Bee gwaa·yn, bae·ŭn ĕes? ‘I am going, am I not?’1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 35 In this dialect [i.e. Montacute, south Somerset] ees is only used..interrogatively and finally, and..its connexion with ich is very doubtful.1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Es, ez,..I (enclitic);..[Aay spoo·uz kun kaa-n kaa·n-ees?] I suppose (I) can carry it, can I not?

b. Proclitic or with enclitic verb.

α. early Middle English hi-, early Middle English i-, early Middle English–1500s y-, early Middle English– I- (now regional and nonstandard), 1700s– a- (regional), 1800s– ah- (regional), 1800s– oi- (regional). Frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 220 Ich wealde more þan idude [a1225 Lamb. ich dede].a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 4 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 220 Þeih ibie [a1225 Lamb. ich bo] a winter eald.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 225 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 226 Nafre an helle ine cam..ich.a1250 Lofsong Louerde in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. Minor Creed 217 Ibileue on ðe holi goste.c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) 107 in O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete (1866) 27 For him i^c wole þane deþ afonge: ynabbe þerof no doute.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1053 Inot hou hii miȝte To be bi hom sulue in an herne.a1350 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Harl.) (1907) l. 58 Adam, þou hauest aboht sore, Inul soffre þat no more.c1560 Trag. Rich. II (1870) 96 Wert thou aliue to see How Ile reuenge thy tymless tragedye On all ther heads.1567 Triall of Treasure sig. B If you will giue me leaue yle tell ye howe.1567 Triall of Treasure sig. Biii Ise teache you to speake.1568 Wyf of Auchtirmwchty l. 116 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 324 And [= if] we fecht Iill gett the woir.1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. iv. 38 Ile be a candleholder and looke on.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Ile [1623 Ice] trie whether your coster or my battero be the harder.a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. i. 1 Go, Ile hold.1657 J. Trapp Comm. Ezra x. 44 Ile meddle with none of them.a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) IV. 183/2 [North Country] Ile mow my Meggy.1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxiii. 308 I'd a better Opinion of thy Spirit!1765 in T. Percy Reliques II. 141 Nay, death Ild rather chuse!1778 C. Graham Misc. Pieces 66 A's fain to see the', and as laith to part.1865 T. Clarke Jonny Shippard's Journa in Specimens Westmorland Dial. 11 Let ma git theear, an a's mebbie preeave a bit aaldther ner tha tak ma ta be.1893 E. Field Poems (1922) 529 An' sez, sez he: ‘For sayin' phwat Oi did,’ sez he, ‘Oi'm sorry!’1919 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. 5 Dec. (1993) III. 139 Don't, because youre exquisitely tender spare me. Id rather not besporn.1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 136 ‘Whar you gwine?’ she said. ‘Ah'm goan home,’ he said.1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 26 Ile fetch are kid on to yer!1985 Texas Monthly May 194/3 If ah'm fixin' t'swerve t'th raht, ah need t' stomp on m' left foot.1994 Sun Zoom Spark Dec. 29/4 Id never ever seen an erection before.

β. early Middle English ic-, early Middle English ih-, early Middle English ik- (east midlands), early Middle English jch-, early Middle English–1500s ich-, early Middle English–1600s (1800s Irish English (Wexford)) Ich-, Middle English ych-, 1800s utch- (Somerset). In later use often showing reanalysis as I cham, I chill, etc., and even Ich cham (see quot. a1549).c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 80 Ichulle [c1225 Bodl. ich schal] leoten deor to teoren ant to luken þe.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 109 Ichim [c1225 Bodl. ich him] luuie.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 8359 Ich hom abbe..iholpe er ywis & ȝut icholle her after more.c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) l. 946 Ȝif y swere, icham forsworn.c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) l. 428 Bot þat ichim wald of-sende.a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 22 Myself ycholde ȝef þat y myhte.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 73 Holi churche Icham [c1400 Trin. Cambr. I am].a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 389 He dipartede hem..In what maner y chulle ȝow say.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 536 'Cudberth of Dereham,' he sayde, 'ychame'.a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 1 Tell you I chyll, If that ye wyll.a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) i. 122 Iche cham a Cornyshe man.?1567 Merie Tales Master Skelton sig. Ci I cham sicke; I chill go home to bed.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36^v In husbandry, icham truely, ycounted to excell.1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iv. xi I chill look to you.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 52 Ichul, I will.1877 Trans. Philol. Soc. 580 At Merriott, near Crewkerne,..and..at Montacute..I will, I would..are rendered by utchill, utchood.

γ. colloquial and regional 1500s–1700s ch- (English regional (south-western) in later use), 1600s (1800s– English regional (south-western) in later use) 'ch-, 1800s 'c' (English regional (Somerset), before h); Irish English (Wexford) 1800s ch, 1800s 'ch. 1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 An olde sage father fole in Kente..said, ye masters, say euery man what he wil; cha marked this matter wel as som other.1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 By my fayth maysters quod he..by the masse cholde twere a faire fish pole.1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 Nay byr Ladye maisters, quod he, yche cannot tell you why, but chote well it hath.a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 29 Oh! cham a-cold.a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 31 Chyll go tell my moother.?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. Biij Cha caute a corage of slouth.1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes lxix. sig. Bvii^v By Iys cham a shamd.1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes xlix. sig. Bvii^v Cha forgote it quight... At shrift chad my Pater noster.1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. B.iiii Chyl ley my gowne.a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. iii. sig. B.iij^v Chad not so much ichotte not whan, Nere since chwas bore chwine.a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Fii Chill say no more, lest I offende.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36 Though icham not, zo zeemlie chwot, as bene the Courtnoles gay.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle i. iii. sig. Aiii Chwere but at noddy to venter where cha no neede.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. i. sig. Bii Chym goodly rewarded, cham I not.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. i. sig. Biii And channot sum what to stop this gap cham vtterly vndone.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle iii. iii. sig. Ciii^v Woulde chad her by the face choulde cracke her callet crowne.1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. Q.3 If that iche durst..Chould pray thee carrie him some clothes.1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 459 By my vaye, chame more wearye..than yif chad gone to plowe all this daye.1589 ‘M. Marprelate’ Hay any Worke for Cooper 39 Chwarnt tee ti vorehead zaze hard as horne.1599 Hist. Syr Clyomon & Clamydes sig. F Iesu how cham beraid.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Chill not let goe Sir..and chud haue beene swaggar'd out of my life.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 236 'Chill pick your teeth sir.a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub i. i. 75 in Wks. (1640) III 'Cham no mans wife, But resolute Hilts.1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iv. v, in Wks. (1873) III. 185 Then zay cha bewrai'd the house I coame on.a1648 T. Davies in Graphic & Hist. Illustr. (1832) I. xxii. 343 'Chill zell my cart and eake my plow.a1648 T. Davies Somersetsh. Man's Compl. in Specimens Eng. Dial. (1879) 9 'C ham sure that made vs slaues to be.1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 4 A Western man [would speak it] thus, Chud eat more cheese an chad it.1746 Exmoor Scolding (ed. 3) ii. 13 Ched et in my Meend, and zo chave still. But chawnt drow't out bevore tha begen'st agen, and then chell.1746 Exmoor Courtship 31 Now chave a zeed ye, 'tes zo good as chad eat ye.1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 188 Bread and cheese 'c' have a had, That 'c' had 'c' have a eat, More 'ch wou'd 'c' had it.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 84 'Cha jeist ee-rid apan A laafe ing lemethès chote wel ta ba zang.1873 W. P. Williams & W. A. Jones Gloss. Somersetshire 20 'Cham, I am; 'Ch'ool, I will; 'Ch'ood, I would, &c.1901 H. Kingsford in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 299/2 [Worcestershire] 'Ch 'oonder. Constantly used by Farmer Hemns of Broomhall.1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 35 In a small area of Somerset..at least until a few years ago, if not at present, the old pronoun ich could be heard as in 'chill, I will or 'cham, I am.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ik (West Frisian ik), Old Dutch ic, ik, ih (Middle Dutch ic, ik, hic, Dutch ik), Old Saxon ik, (rarely) ek, ec (Middle Low German ik), Old High German ih (Middle High German ich, German ich), Old Icelandic ek, Norn (Shetland) yagh, yach, (enclitic) -a, Norwegian (Nynorsk) eg, (Bokmål) jeg, Old Swedish iak (Swedish jag), Old Danish iak, æk, ak (Danish jeg), Gothic ik, and also forms shown by early North Germanic runic inscriptions ek, ik, (as enclitic) -eka, -ka, -ika, -ak, ultimately < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἐγώ (also ἐγών), classical Latin ego, Sanskrit aham, Old Church Slavonic azŭ (also jazŭ), Old Prussian as, (rare) es, Lithuanian aš, †eš: these forms apparently represent several different extensions of the same base, or in some instances this base without any extension.The paradigm of first person pronouns. The paradigm of first person personal pronouns in Indo-European shows (at least) four separate base forms, which occur in a suppletive relationship in the paradigm. Thus the nominative singular and the various oblique singular forms are from two distinct bases, and the nominative plural and the various oblique plural forms are from two further distinct bases. The nominative and oblique dual forms do, however, appear to be ultimately from the same bases as the respective plural forms, although the relationships between them present various points of difficulty. This pattern is broadly preserved in Old English, and can be summarized as follows: Singular nominative ic , accusative me , also mec , dative me , genitive mīn , possessive adjective mīn ; Dual nominative wit , accusative unc , also uncet , dative unc , genitive uncer , possessive adjective uncer ; Plural nominative we , accusative ūs , also ūsic , dative ūs , genitive ūre , possessive adjective ūre . For fuller information on each of the forms and their functions see the entries me pron.¹, n., and adj., mine adj. and pron., wit pron., unk pron., unker pron., unker adj., we pron., n., and adj., us pron., n., and adj., our pron. and adj. The accusative forms mec , uncet , ūsic did not survive into Middle English. The dual forms are not found after the early 14th cent. The genitive singular of the personal pronoun (as opposed to the use of the possessive adjective as possessive pronoun) did not survive into Middle English (see note at mine adj. and pron.); on the history of the genitive plural of the personal pronoun after the Old English period see our pron. On the development (in early Middle English) of the form mī as a variant of the possessive adjective mīn before a consonant, and the eventual distinction (in modern English) between these forms as possessive adjective and possessive pronoun respectively, see discussion at my adj., int., and pron. From the 14th cent. the new possessive pronoun form ours pron. is found, varying with our pron. in early use. Form history. The usual development of Old English ic was to show palatalization and assibilation of the consonant (in a context following a high vowel), although this is rarely reflected in spelling forms until the Middle English period, since the Old English spelling ic could reflect either the velar or the palatalized and assibilated sound. (See Forms 1γ.) Later examples at Forms 1α certainly show a velar /k/ rather than assibilated /tʃ/; however, this is probably due to influence of the forms in Scandinavian languages, rather than to failure of the palatalization and assibilation in Old English. The modern English form I and the other forms at Forms 1β probably result ultimately from Old English forms with lenition of /k/ to /x/, as reflected by the (Northumbrian) form ih (and probably also by ig and ich , although the latter may simply show an unusual spelling for the velar plosive: see Forms 1α). Although recorded only in Northumbrian, this change was probably more widespread, and probably occurred in positions of low stress. (See R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§7.52–3.) (It is possible that quots. OE, lOE at Forms 1β simply show scribal errors rather than early examples of the form type without final consonant.) However, in Middle English forms of the type I occur only very rarely before a word beginning with a vowel until the 14th cent., and it is likely that both the development and the spread of forms of this type was at least reinforced by assimilatory loss in such contexts as ich shal ‘I shall’. Forms showing a velar become rare after the end of the 14th cent. In Older Scots they are found only in the Advocates' Library manuscript of Barbour's Bruce. (See Forms 1α.) Forms of the type ich survive much later, especially before a word beginning with a vowel. (See Forms 1γ, and also Forms 2bβ for use as a proclitic.) A reduced form ch- in proclitic use is also found (see Forms 2bγ), as are forms of the type cha , che , chee developed from this, showing the development of a vowel before a word beginning with a consonant (see Forms 1ε). By the late 19th cent. the use of any forms with /tʃ/ had chiefly become restricted to a very closely circumscribed area in south Somerset (characterized by A. J. Ellis as ‘the Land of Utch’: On Early Eng. Pronunc. (1889) V. 84–6), in which district it apparently persisted into the 20th cent. before becoming obsolete. (F. T. Elworthy reports in 1897 ( Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 552/1) that it ‘still survives in this locality, though worn down to a mere faint ch’; nonetheless it is recorded there in 1952 (as /ɪtʃ/) in the speech of a farmer in his forties by P. Wright, a fieldworker for the Survey of English Dialects (see M. F. Wakelin Eng. Dial. (1972) 164); and N. Rogers ( Wessex Dial. (1979) 35) claims it could still be heard in the same area in the reduced proclitic form ‘at least until a few years ago’.) However, H. Kingsford, writing c1900, notes the use of what appears to have been a fossilized form of the proclitic in the speech of one individual from Broomhall, south Worcestershire (see quot. 1901 at Forms 2bγ). The status of the forms in -s (see Forms 1δ, with corresponding enclitic at Forms 2aγ) is unclear. They may represent a further development of the forms at Forms 1γ (perhaps compare the early Middle English forms ichs , ics , and the 19th-cent. English regional (Devon) form ish ). However, the three attestations of such forms in Middle English (quots. a1225, c1225, 1340 at Forms 1δ) admit of alternative explanations (respectively scribal error for the former two examples and assimilation of consonants for the latter), and it is possible that there is no continuity with the later south-western regional evidence, which may represent a different word, us pron. (compare forms at that entry) used as subjective singular (compare us pron. 8), although this would be unparalleled in the modern regional varieties. (The possibility of a different origin for these forms was suggested early by R. Wight in an unpublished glossary (see quot. 1777-8 at Forms 1δ) and later (independently) by L. L. Bonaparte ( Trans. Philol. Soc. (1876) 581; compare quot. 1876 at Forms 1δ) and by F. T. Elworthy ( Outline Gram. Dial. W. Somerset (1877) 35; compare quot. 1877² at Forms 2aγ).) The forms at Forms 1β probably originally showed both stressed and unstressed forms, with long and short vowel respectively. The Middle English unstressed form is apparently preserved by the enclitic forms at Forms 2aβ, which survived in English regional (northern) use until at least the end of the 19th cent. (compare comments on pronunciation in quots. 1828, 1892 at Forms 2aβ); these forms probably became obsolete some time in the 20th cent. The modern English regional (north midland and northern) and Scots forms ah, aa, aw, oa, etc. show the development of a new unstressed form from the first element of the diphthong which resulted from the Great Vowel Shift development of the Middle English stressed form with long ī.

A. pron. The subjective case of the first person singular pronoun.

I. As subject or subject complement.

1. Used by the speaker or writer referring to himself or herself.

a. Generally.

(a) As the subject of predication or in attributive agreement with the subject.

ΚΠ

eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 34/2 Conuenio, ic groetu.

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 55 Ic hyne cann, & gif ic secge þæt ic hine ne cunne, ic beo leas.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 I ne can ne I ne mai tellen alle þe wunder.

a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 283 A hwat schal i nu don?

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 31 So hadde I spoken with hem euerichoon That I was of hir felaweshipe anon.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Rev. i. 8 I am Alpha and Omega the fyrst and the laste.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lj^v I Charles went nexte to hym.

1609 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 207 And then ibeing soe troubled wente to Master Archdeacon.

1663 S. Pepys Diary 29 Aug. (1971) IV. 290 She and I..bought meat for tomorrow.

1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 54 I cou'd not tell Money, not I.

1782 F. Burney Cecilia I. i. iv. 46 I never trust myself in her room but I am sure to be ruined.

1806 in W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Property VI. 56 Know all men by these presents, that I John Griffin make the afore-mentioned my last-will and testament.

1861 C. Thaxter Let. 10 July (1895) 20 Had I not been such a travel-stained Cleopatra, and so tired and hot, I should have had a sparkling and vivacious time.

?1930 J. Thurber Lett. (2002) 125 Instead of thinking back on women I have ‘been with’.., I think forward on women I want to be with.

1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton vi. 121 I en't maunderin, be I? Only had a drop. I en't lush, like.

2006 N. S. Dhaliwal Tourism v. 70 On the top floor was what he and I called ‘the war room’.

(b) In predicative agreement with the subject.Now more formal than me pron.¹ 5d.

ΚΠ

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 160 (MED) Thei seie alle trewely, And swere, that it am noght I.

a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 6739 Tho [Generides] wold be a-know, Ful simplie he answerd..‘It am I, hide it wol I noght.’

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 86 It is I þat am here in ȝour syth.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxviii. 372 Mi dere freyndys, now may ye se Forsoth that is I, That dyed apon the roode-tre And sythen rose bodely.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 722/2 Smell at my coller, and you shall parceyve whether it be I that stynke or nat.

1611 Bible (King James) Mark vi. 50 It is I, be not afraid.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. vii. 63 It was I that instructed my girls to encourage our landlord's addresses.

1883 Harper's Mag. June 35/1 It is I who am a drag on you. It is I who am getting you into danger.

1926 M. Moore Let. 1 May in Sel. Lett. (1997) 226 When you are ready to take back the Editorship, it will be I who am ‘happy’ and justified in being so.

1950 V. Nabokov Let. 24 Mar. (1989) 99 Sirin, the writer I detachedly describe in one passage, is I.

2004 A. Levy Small Island i. 11 I did not dare to dream that it would one day be I who would go to England.

b. Premodified by an adjective. Cf. me pron.¹ 7. Now rare.

ΚΠ

a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Bj Ere you came hyther, poore I was sombody, The Kinge delighted in mee, now I am but a noddy.

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 171 Poore I was slaine when Bascianus dide.

1611 J. Davies Scourge of Folly 241 But wretched I..None, no not one, a 'Pistle now can frame.

1690 J. Dryden Don Sebastian Epil. 4 Poor I to be a Nun, poor You a Fryar.

1693 J. Dryden Roundelay i Wretched I, to love in vain!

1709 J. Reynolds Death's Vision iii. 4 Alas! What shall poor I become!

1775 S. Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 26 July Here sit poor I, with nothing but my own solitary individuality.

1856 G. H. Boker Leonor de Guzman iii. i, in Plays & Poems I. 282 I—poor I—Must rack my brain for some fresh dancing-jack, To keep him quiet.

1912 E. Martyn Grangecolman ii. 31 To think that poor I should have been of such consequence to a man like you—a man of your attainments!

c. Used in giving advice (with should or would): ‘I, if I were you (he or she)’.

ΚΠ

1835 T. Arnold Let. 18 May in A. P. Stanley Life & Corr. T. Arnold (1898) I. vii. 360 If possible, I would take a Strabo with me, and an Herodotus.

1846 G. E. Corrie 25 Mar. in M. Holroyd Mem. (1890) xi. 241 I should not be too strict about the ‘artificial flowers’.

1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert iii. 19 I should get her back as soon as you can, otherwise perhaps the painter will marry her!

1939 D. Whipple Priory (2003) xvii. 204 ‘I think I'll get it over at once, seeing your father,’ said Nicholas nervously. ‘I should. Then it won't hang over us,’ advised Christine.

1993 A. L. Kennedy Looking for Possible Dance 96 As Gus lifted the bottle, Susan moved to touch Lawrence's arm. ‘I'd get out of the way, Mr. Lawrence, You don't want burned, do you?’

II. As object of a verb or preposition.

a. Used for the objective case after a verb or preposition when separated from the governing word by other words (esp. in coordinate constructions with another pronoun and and).This has been common at various times (esp. towards the end of the 16th and in the 17th cent., and from the mid 20th cent. onwards); it has been considered ungrammatical since the 18th cent.

ΚΠ

1582 A. Munday Eng. Romayne Lyfe ii. 20 So after certaine familiar behauiour, vsed betweene him and I, he..went into the Refectorium.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 317 All debts are cleerd betweene you and I.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor v. i. sig. L2^v Musco has beene with my cosen and I all this day.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxii. sig. E4 And hang more praise vpon deceased I.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 16 My Father hath no childe, but I.

1649 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 136 To give you and I a right understanding of those particulars.

1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife v. 64 It must all light upon Heartfree and I.

1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife v. 65 Between you and I.

1710 S. Centlivre Bickerstaff's Burying i. ii. 14 Leave your Lady and I alone.

1744 J. Steuart Let.-bk. (1915) 449 The postscript to your letter..gave my wife and I unexpressable joy.

1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days (ed. 3) i. i. 3 Let you and I [(ed. 1) me] cry quits.

1866 Harper's Mag. Jan. 162/2 I have heard him..make a bet that ‘between you and I’ is correct, and refuse to be convinced of his error.

1959 N.Z. Listener 25 Sept. 11/2 I have heard ‘between you and I, old man’, and ‘people like you and I’, from graduates in some arts other than the art of speech.

1972 J. Rossiter Rope for General Dietz ii. 24 I was sure they were looking for Michael and I.

2002 A. Pearson I don't know how she does It (2003) xii. 113 ‘Tyrone Power,’ my grandmother used to murmur fondly when she saw him and I.

b. English regional (south-western). Used as an emphatic objective (in contrast with unemphatic me).

ΚΠ

a1859 Cupid's Garden in T. Hughes Scouring White Horse (1859) vii. 180 Let thee and I go our own waay, And we'll let she go shis'n.

1859 W. Barnes Hwomely Rhymes 20 How you do muddle! Gi'e I the spade.

1863 W. Barnes Gram. & Gloss. Dorset Dial. 23 We should say unemphatically ‘Gi'e me the pick’..but emphatically ‘Gi'e the money to I, not he’.

1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 35 Occasionally Aay is used in the objective case, but by individuals only, and it is not the rule, as Gie aay dhik, ‘Give I that’. Lat aay ab-m, ‘Let I have it’.

1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 27 Turning a..deaf ear to the solicitations of admiring companions when they cry, ‘Do let I come wi'ye, Bill’.

1907 J. Masefield Campden Wonder i, in Poems & Plays (1918) II. 11 Give I the lantern.

1941 C. Reynolds Glory Hill Farm vii. 69 Those who said ‘Gie I a pint, mum’.

1967 in K. M. Briggs Dict. Brit. Folk-tales (1991) 151 Give I the sack, I'll show thee how to bake parkin.

c. Caribbean (originally and chiefly in Rastafarian usage). Used as a general objective pronoun of the first person: me.

ΚΠ

1964 H. O. Patterson Children of Sisyphus xx. 192 ‘Oh I see,... You come to study I.’ ‘Well, not just you, all of you, that is, if you don't mind.’ ‘But all of we is only one of I.’

1978 Observer 4 June 3/3 If dem keep on oppressing I dem way dem is, I have to just fight back.

1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xiv. 290 Today de record release and nobody can stop I now.

2000 G. Philp Uncle Obadiah & Alien in N. Hopkinson Whispers from Cotton Tree Root 204 So why you call I Menelik?

B. n.²

1. The pronoun ‘I’ as a word.In quot. 1599 with a play on the letter I (cf. I per se I at I n.¹ 1a).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > I > as a word

IOE

ego1913

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 9 Þonne cwest ðu: ego hoc feci ic dyde ðis, þonne stent se ic on ðines naman stede.

1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered ii. 8 The Cleerer of Diuinitie, the I per se I, and the belweather of Diuines.

1675 R. Ferguson Interest of Reason in Relig. iii. i. 466 In one line he affirms the Church to be the true Vine, and in the next he tells us, that the I of which True Vine is predicated, signifies Christ together with his Church.

1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 185 It would be the same as to say the soul of the soul, or the body of the body, or the I of me.

1827 J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare Guesses at Truth I. 108 The proudest word in English, to judge by its way of carrying itself, is I.

1874 A. Helps Social Pressure (1875) v. 66 An ‘egotistical fellow’, as you call him..presses forward with his ‘I, I, I’, simply because, perhaps unjustly, you do not recognise that ‘I’ sufficiently.

1883 B. F. Westcott Epist. of St. John 210 The unchanged and unchangeable ‘I’ of the Word.

1910 Mind 19 42 He is only refurbishing Hegel's grotesque proof that the (word) ‘I’ is universal.

2000 A. Lugg Wittgenstein's Investig. 187 If I am puzzled about how the word ‘I’ is used and you tell me that it is used to refer to the speaker, you are not adducing a fact.

†2. A self, a person identical with oneself. Chiefly in another I: a second self. Cf. alter ego n. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > second self or kindred spirit

another myself1526

alter ego1537

another I1539

self1557

second self1586

alter idema1618

himself1622

twin soul1868

1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. G.v^v My frende is as who shuld say an other I.

1550 J. Harington tr. Cicero Bk. Freendeship sig. Giii^v For he surely is a freend, that is an other I.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 9 At all times an other I, in all places y^e expresse Image of mine owne person.

1614 J. Sylvester tr. J. Bertaut Panaretus 14 in Parl. Vertues Royal That same other I.

1677 T. Good Brief Eng. Tract Logick 36 A Friend is another I. Amicus alter ego.

3. Metaphysics. The subject or object of self-consciousness; that which is conscious of itself, as thinking, feeling, and willing; the ego.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > subjectivity, relation to self > [noun] > system of subjective being > subjective being, self

mindc1350

myself1526

selfhood1568

self1641

ipseity1659

subject1682

seity1709

I1710

ego1824

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > I

I1710

1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §139 What I am myself—that which I denote by the term I—is the same with what is meant by soul or spiritual substance.

1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iv. i. 193 The Question is, ‘What constitutes the “we” or “I?”’ and, ‘Whether the I of this instant, be the same with that of any instant preceding, or to come’.

1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind i. §3 How do I know that..the I of this moment is the very individual I of yesterday?

1829 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. Dec. 116 A Manifestation of Power from something which is not I.

1870 H. Macmillan Bible Teachings viii. 152 Man is not an independent unit; a self-centred, self-sustaining I.

1874 W. Wallace tr. G. W. F. Hegel Logic §20. 32 ‘I’, in the abstract, as such, is the mere act of concentration or reference to self.

1891 E. B. Bax Outlooks from New Standpoint iii. 199 The I which we think of when we say myself..is not the true I, the I that is thinking, but merely a pseudo-I, a synthesis of thoughts and feelings reflected in this I, which are immediately or intuitively identified with that I.

1986 A. Codrescu Comrade Past & Mister Present 53 The I is neither product nor originator of the Not-I. That is posing the problem falsely. The I is the enemy of the Not-I, its colonizer, conqueror, and exploiter.

1998 K. Eshun More Brilliant than Sun iii. 26 The self no longer amputates itself down to a single part but instead asserts that I is a crowd, that the human is a population of processes.

4. The writer of a literary composition, esp. the narrator of a work of fiction, appearing on his or her own account. Also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > creation or description of characters > character assumed by author

persona1732

I1858

1858 F. D. Maurice Let. 27 May in J. F. Maurice Life F. D. Maurice (1884) II. ix. 324 My eagerness that in their writings they should..each present himself as an I.

1912 Harvard Theol. Rev. 5 69 The exegetical question concerning the speaker in the psalms, whether the ‘I’ of the Psalter has an individual or a collective reference.

1940 Eng. Jrnl. 29 528 The ‘I’ of the later novels..has had his edges rubbed smooth by worldly success.

1946 ‘G. Orwell’ in Observer 10 Feb. 3/3 The ‘I’ of the story describes himself as a Democrat.

1962 John o' London's 19 Apr. 372/1 The tendency for novelists to move away from the ‘I’ kind of storytelling.

1965 Eng. Stud. 46 390 The point of view of the ‘I’ narrator is perfectly maintained throughout the tale.

1969 Listener 30 Jan. 151/3 The ‘I’ of David Martin's tense and elusive story.

2000 Contemp. Lit. 41 592 The various tales are presided over by two ‘voices’, an ‘I’ narrator and his female companion.

Phrases

P1.

I AM n. [originally after biblical usage (Exodus 3:14); quot. 1539 translates Hebrew: 'ehyeh 'ăšer 'ehyeh I am that I am; 'ehyeh šĕlāḥnī 'ălēḵem I am hath sent me unto you; quot. a1382 translates the Vulgate, which has post-classical Latin ego sum qui sum I am who I am; qui est, misit me ad vos who is, sent me to you; compare Jehovah n.] (frequently as great I am) (a name for) God as self-existent; also colloquial (in extended use) a person considered important, esp. by himself or herself, a self-important person.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > name of > scriptural name(s)

AdonaiOE

Sabaotha1325

Lord (God) of Hosts1382

Jehovah1530

I AM1539

Jah1539

the Ancient of Days1560

Elohim1605

Shaddaia1631

seven names of God1657

Yahweh1869

Hashem1877

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is self important

bug1536

his nibs1821

panjandrum1825

prima ballerina1923

I AM1926

cheese1965

the mind > emotion > pride > self-importance > [noun] > person

bug1536

bladder1579

God almighty1632

cockalorumc1796

his nibs1821

prima donna1834

fly on the (coach-)wheel1840

high muck-a-muck1856

nobs1877

high muckety-muck1882

muckamuck1883

Pooh Bah1886

prima ballerina1923

I AM1926

muckety-muck1927

Pooter1957

cheese1965

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. iii. 14 Þe lord sayde to Moyses, I am þe whiche am he seiþ, þus þou schalt say to þe children of yrael, he þat is: haþ sent me to ȝou.]

1539 Bible (Great) Exod. iii. 14 And god answered Moses: I am that I am: And he sayd: this shalte thou say vnto the chyldren of Israel: I am hath sent me vnto you.

1674 J. Howe Treat. Delighting in God i. 163 This Object of delight is the I am, yesterday and to day the same, and for ever; without variableness and shadow of change.

?1770 T. Olivers Hymn to God of Abraham x. 7 Jehovah—Father—Great I AM! We worship Thee.

1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. xiii. 296 The primary imagination I hold to be the living Power and prime Agent of all human Perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM.

1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes iii. 184 Jim thought himself quite a Great I AM.

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover x. 131 I am a cypher. You are the great I-am! as far as life goes.

1954 W. Faulkner Fable 57 Lifting its voice against the Absolute, the ultimate I-Am.

1970 D. Francis Rat Race i. 13 He had none of the ‘I am’ aura which often clings around the notably successful.

1993 Mod. Lang. Rev. 88 953 For him the ‘I’ is a unified self that participates mysteriously in the divine ‘I am’.

P2.

† I say n. Obsolete a mere assertion.

ΚΠ

1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation v. 217 His proofs are allwayes beggarly I sayes, or ifs, and may be soes.

P3.

I know not what n. the unknown, unintelligible, or inexpressible (cf. je ne sais quoi n.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [noun] > instance of

lock1563

incomprehensibility1651

inscrutables1665

incomprehensible1678

inconceivable1706

I know not what1711

unknowable1725

unsearchable1725

indefinable1810

a sealed book1814

unknowable1816

unintelligible1838

inconceivability1851

imponderable1855

inscrutablenessa1864

unfathomability1867

unthinkable1871

closed book1913

intangible1914

imponderabilia1925

generation gap1962

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [noun]

unknown1479

I know not what1711

unbeknown1888

1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks II. v. 414 Whatever is commonly said of the unexpressible, the unintelligible, the I know not what of Beauty.

1830 J. Neal Authorship xx. 217 Take care of that delicate line which divides..the I know-not-what that is lovely, touching, and sincere in what you say about women, from what makes their cheeks tingle and their eyes quail.

1911 tr. G. Hanotaux in Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 19 38 The I know not what of fervor and fire which emanates from him.

1991 F. F. Centore Being & Becoming 217 Emanating from the I-know-not-what via an unknown process, Dasein returns the favor of existence..by bestowing upon Becoming..something that Becoming does not possess in its own right.

P4.

I will n. an instance of the formula of promise in marriage.

ΚΠ

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam Epil. 205 Her sweet ‘I will’ has made ye one.

1884 H. Conway in Harper's Mag. Dec. 147/2 Both bride and bridegroom said their ‘I wills’ in..low tones.

1923 K. D. S. Wiggin My Garden of Memory xiv. 142 The hero was a clergyman and..proposed to marry himself to the heroine, using the church service and alternately asking the questions and reading the answers, putting in the ‘I wills’ wherever needed.

P5. I and Thou: (in the theology of Martin Buber) describing a relationship between two people, as opposed to that between a person and an object. Cf. I-thou n. [After German Ich und Du (1923 in the title of the work translated in quot. 1937).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > between persons, communities, etc. > other specific types

working relationship1866

I and Thou1937

1937 R. G. Smith tr. M. Buber (title) I and thou.

1958 D. M. Baillie Out of Nazareth xxii. 157 Divine realities can only be known in a personal ‘I-and-Thou’ relationship.

1968 L. Berg Risinghill 64 Such teachers had never seen their pupils as fellow human beings before, as Martin Buber's ‘I’ and ‘Thou’.

2003 Jrnl. Relig. 83 553 For Buber God is the ‘third’ in the relation of I and Thou.

P6.

I and I pron. (also I an' I, I&I, I'n'I) (originally and chiefly in Rastafarian usage) used as a uniform personal pronoun (esp. first-person, plural or singular); I, me, my; we, us, our; (also occasionally) you, he, her, etc.Used to emphasize the concept of oneness, important among Rastafarians, who believe that all people are seen as one in the eyes of God or Jah.

ΚΠ

1975 B. Marley So Jah Seh (song) in Natty Dread (album) Down here we suffer. But I and I. I hang on in there And I and I. I nah leggo.

1976 Crusader (St. Lucia) 9 Oct. 5 Right now, I an' I greatest problem is that dem don't want I an' I in de Concrete, but when I an' I move up country, dem send police to hunt I an' I down and bring I an' I back to the Concrete.

1985 Guardian (Nexis) 1 Oct. They not like I and I Rasta. They have no love for they fellow men like I and I.

1993 F. D'Aguiar Dread in Brit. Subj. 16 He spoke through that smile at me. 'I an' I don't need anyone to speak for I.

2000 N. Barlay Crumple Zone 221 Cee, you wanna know wha' I an' I tink... Get rid of whatever needs getting' rid of.

Compounds

ˈI-now n. Metaphysics the subject of present consciousness.

ΚΠ

1891 E. B. Bax Outlooks from New Standpoint iii. 200 This distinction is..traceable to that between the I-now, which thinks and presents, and the thing thought considered per se, that which is thought and presented in it... The thinking and presenting I-now may be regarded as the material.

1948 L. O. Kattsoff Philos. Math. xiii. 197 We can almost speak of a dual language, i.e., an I-now-terminology on the one hand and an It-terminology on the other. In the ‘I-now-terminology’ the indicative meaning elements of the words depend on the person who is speaking, while in the ‘it-terminology’ this is not the case.

1999 M. M. Adams Horrendous Evils & Goodness of God iv. 78 An individual's self-love..and concern for his/her own personal history..involves a kind of altruism of the ‘I-now’ towards the other occasions in the bundle.

Derivatives

ˈI-ety n. = I-hood n.

ΚΠ

1835 Mrs. Carlyle in Lett. (1883) I. 18 In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ety.

1952 L. Hanson Marian Evans & George Eliot i. 4 This strong belief in their ‘I-ety’ is common enough in children, but the example given of Marian's demonstration and her age at the time are perhaps not so common.

† ˈI-ship n. Obsolete rare = I-hood n.

ΚΠ

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1839) IV. 232 Who can comprehend his own..personeity, that is his I-ship (Ichheit).

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	i
释义	In.¹ Brit. /ʌɪ/, U.S. /aɪ/ Etymology: the ninth letter and third vowel of the Roman alphabet, going back through the Greek Iota to the Semitic Yod. The simple form I of the character in Greek from about 500 b.c., and in the Roman alphabet, was reduced from a more complex Early Greek form ?, which originated in the Phœnician ?. The Semitic letter represents a consonant (= English Y in yellow, yoke, etc.), but this forms diphthongs with preceding a and e, and ‘quiesces’ in a preceding i, making long ī. It is thus, in the body or at the end of a word, often an indication of the vowel ī; and it was adopted as the symbol of the i vowel by the Greeks, who had no y consonant. In the Latin alphabet, on the other hand, it was used with both values, viz. that of i vowel (long and short), and y consonant, as in ibīdem, ībis; iacui, Iupiter, Iouis. Even when the consonant passed in Romanic from the sound of Y to that of ‘G soft’ (Italian gi-, English and Old French j), and subsequently, in some languages, to other sounds, it continued for many centuries to be expressed by the same letter as the vowel I, with which it had no longer phonetic relations. At length, after 1600 (in England chiefly 1630–40), a differentiation was made, the consonant being expressed by the character J j, in its origin merely a variant form of I i, used in certain positions; for the history of which see the next letter J. The result is that, in the modern development of the Roman alphabet, the ninth letter has been split into two, I and J; and I remains only a vowel. The original value of the Græco-Roman I vowel when long was that of the ‘high-front-narrow’ vowel of Bell's scale, which the letter still has in all the continental languages, and in some English words thence adopted, as Louisa, machine, clique, casino, a sound which in native English words is now normally represented by ē, ee, in be, see, mete, meet. The short i was doubtless originally the true ‘short’ of the same sound, the ‘narrow’ i in French fini, Italian fortissimo; but, in Germanic, the short vowel represented by i has probably always been the corresponding ‘wide’ vowel /ɪ/, as in English finny, missing. Thus, the current sound of short i in him, it, has, apparently, come down unchanged from Old English times. Long i, on the other hand, has undergone a great change, having about the beginning of the modern period changed into a diphthong with i as its second element. This evidently arose from the practice of beginning the utterance of the long vowel before the vocal organs had quite attained the very close position of long /iː/, so that the sound began with an opener and less definite vowel quality, which tended in use to become more and more distinct from the second element. The exact quality of the first element at present is difficult to fix: it varies greatly in different localities and in different individuals. ‘We have symbolized the diphthong by /əɪ/, taking the first element as the “mid-mixed-wide” vowel of Melville Bell's scale, the general “obscure vowel” of English; but some phonetists take it as the “mid-back” or the “low-mixed” vowel, wide or narrow; and it may be heard locally as the “mid-front” and “low-front” wide or narrow.’ ( N.E.D.) This diphthongization of original long ī is not peculiar to English, but has taken place also in German and Dutch. The difference is that in English the old simple vowel symbol is retained for the new diphthong, while in German and Dutch this is expressed by the new diphthongal symbols ei and ij (formerly y): compare Old English, Old High German, Old Low German mīn with English mine, German mein, Dutch mijn, formerly myn. In addition to the two normal modern English values /ɪ/ and /aɪ/, the letter i has others, due either to the disturbing influence of a following r, to the retention by foreign words of their foreign sounds, or to the obscuring effect of absence of stress in certain positions. The sounds that occur in stressed syllables are the following:1. /ɪ/in hit/hɪt/.2. /aɪ/in ice/aɪs/.3. /aɪə/in hire/haɪə(r)/.4. /ɜː/in fir/fɜː/.5. /iː/in pique/piːk/.6. /ɪə/in emir/ɛˈmɪə(r)/. All these may occur also in unstressed syllables. The combination ie has the value of No. 2 in die, dies, died, etc.; of Nos. 5 and 6 in field, chief, grieve, pier, grenadier, etc.; exceptionally that of /ɛ/ in friend, /ɪ/ in sieve. Finally, and unstressed, it has that of simple /ɪ/, as in aerie, cities, pitied. The combinations ai, ei, oi represent diphthongs in Isaiah /aɪˈzaɪə/, aisle /aɪl/, eider /aɪdə(r)/, oil /ɔɪl/, etc.; but ai, ei merely represent /eɪ/, /ɛə/, /iː/ or /ɪə/ in aim /eɪm/, air /ɛə(r)/, rein /reɪn/, feint, heir /ɛə(r)/, receive, receipt, Leith /liːθ/, weir /wɪə(r)/, etc. Before another vowel in the suffixes -ian, -ier, -ion, -ious, etc., i has often the consonantal value of /j/, or a value which readily passes into it: e.g. Christian, clothier, courtier, million, onion, union, copious, previous; after certain consonants, this /j/ value is merged in the consonant, which it palatalizes, as in spacious /ˈspeɪʃəs/, nation /ˈneɪʃən/, soldier /ˈsəʊldʒə(r)/, fusion /ˈfjuːʒən/, Persia /pɜːʃə/, hosier /həʊʒə(r)/, fashion /ˈfæʃən/.The minuscule or ‘small letter’ i is now surmounted by a dot. This is no original part of the letter, but is derived from a diacritic mark, like an acute accent, used to particularize the i in positions in which it might have been taken merely for the stroke of another letter. It appears to have begun in Latin manuscripts about the 11th cent. with the ii in such words as ingeníí, and to have been thence extended to i in contiguity with m, n, or u, and finally to have been used with i in all positions. The accent form of the mark, seen in Caxton's type and in modern German, was in 15th cent. handwriting often developed into a long curved flourish; but in books printed in Roman type it was reduced to the round dot now in use. In chirography, the dot still largely serves its original purpose of indicating the i; hence the phrase to dot the i's. The same cause that led to the dotting of i contributed largely to the formation of j, originally merely a lengthened or tailed i used finally as a more distinctive form, especially when two i's came together, as in ingenij, or in the numerals ij, iij, viij, etc.; also to the substitution of y for i, especially in contiguity with m, n, u, etc., or when final. In English it became at length a kind of scribal canon that i must not be used as a final letter, but must in this position be changed to y; but in inflected forms, where the i was not final, it was retained; hence the current spellings, city, cities; holy, holier, holiest; carry, carries, carried, carrier; weary, wearisome, etc. In modern English no native word ends in i; in alien or adopted words so ending, the i is usually pronounced /aɪ/ in cirri, foci, magi, and other Latin plurals, also in Rabbi, Rabboni, Eli, Levi, and other Hebrew names, but as /ɪ/ in Cadi, kohlrabi, Mahdi, and other foreign words of recent adoption. I. The letter of the alphabet, and its shape. 1. Illustrations of the literary use of the letter: a. simply. (The plural appears as Is, I's, is, i's.) I per se, or I per se I, the letter I by itself forming a word, esp. the pronoun I. Also figurative esp. in dot of (on) an i, to put the dots on the i's, to dot the (one's) i's: see dot v.¹ 1b. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Gram. 5 Gyf þu cwyst nu iudex, þonne byð se i consonans. OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 5 Of ðam [stafum] syndon fif vocales, þæt synd clypiendlice: a, e, i, o, u. c1450 Poem against Friars i, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 322 With an I. and an O. thai praysen not Seynt Poule. c1450 Poem against Friars ii With an O. and an I. men weven that thai wede. ?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Bi Ye shal pronounce..your i, as sharpe as can be. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum sig. M.iiij I, Letter is as wel a consonante as a vowell. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. iii. ii. 226 I only was compleat; I was I per se I; I was like a Rule, without exception. 1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 95 Our vulgar (i) as in (stile) seems to be..a Dipthong..composed of a, i, or e, i, and not a simple Original Vowel. 1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 240 No English Word ends in I, but has always an E after it, as easie..tho' now ie is frequently changed into y. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) That Verse in Virgil, Accipiunt inimicum imbrem, rimisque fatiscunt; Which abounds in i's, is generally admired. 1890 J. H. Stirling Gifford Lect. xvi. 317 It is but a logical breathing: a logical dot on a logical i. 1892 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 2 486 He must..have full notice. But there is no regulation as to what t's are to be crossed or what i's are to be dotted in the notice to be given. b. Representing Greek ἰῶτα, iota n.: see jot n.¹ ΚΠ c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. v. 18 Oþþæt geleoreþ heofun and eorþe, an i [L. iota unum] eþþa an holstæfes ne gelioreþ from ae. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) v. 18 An i oððe an prica. 2. In combinations. a. i-dot n. the dot of an i. I-bar n., I-beam, I-iron, I-rail an iron bar, rail, etc., the section of which is like the letter I. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc. stingc725 stakec893 sowelc900 tree971 rungOE shaftc1000 staffc1000 stockc1000 poleOE spritOE luga1250 lever1297 stanga1300 perchc1300 raftc1330 sheltbeam1336 stower1371 palea1382 spar1388 spire1392 perk1396 ragged staff1397 peela1400 slot1399 plantc1400 heck-stower1401 sparkin1408 cammockc1425 sallow stakec1440 spoke1467 perk treec1480 yard1480 bode1483 spit1485 bolm1513 gada1535 ruttock1542 stob1550 blade1558 wattle1570 bamboo1598 loggat1600 barling1611 sparret1632 picket1687 tringle1706 sprund1736 lug-pole1773 polting lug1789 baton1801 stuckin1809 rack-pin1821 picket-pin1844 I-iron1874 pricker1875 stag1881 podger1888 window pole1888 verge1897 sallow pole1898 lat1899 swizzle-stick1962 society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [noun] > part of letter tittle1538 dash1607 taila1627 i-dot1897 lobe1957 1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 104/2 Other forms are known as Z-iron, I-iron, etc. 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1195/1 I-rail, a double-headed rail with flanges on each side above and below; on the foot and tread. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 69 A ceaseless hoisting and swinging and lowering of angle-bar, I-bar, Z-bar, or other bar gliding into its appointed place. 1897 ‘P. Warung’ Tales Old Regime 23 They were identical to..the position of an i-dot. b. i-mutation, i-umlaut (also i/j-mutation etc.) Philology, the fronting influence of an i or j on the vowel of a preceding syllable in one and the same word; also, the result of this. So i-mutated, i-umlauted adjs. ΚΠ 1870 F. A. March Compar. Gram. Anglo-Saxon Lang. 13 i-umlaut of ô: fôt, fêt(e). 1891 A. L. Mayhew Synopsis Old Eng. Phonol. 41 In North. and Mercian oe = e, the i-umlaut of o. 1906 H. C. Wyld Hist. Study Mother Tongue i. 10 This particular kind of change, known as i-mutation, occurs in hundreds of words in O.E., though, as a rule, the i or j which caused the fronting, disappeared. 1908 J. Wright & E. M. Wright Old Eng. Gram. iii. 28 Palatal umlaut, generally called i-umlaut. 1908 J. Wright & E. M. Wright Old Eng. Gram. iii. 28 a was the only vowel which underwent i-umlaut in OS. and Old High German. 1927 Englische Studien 10 Nov. 81 There was, by the side of OE. scēat..an i-mutated variant scīete or scyte with the same sense. 1927 E. V. Gordon Introd. Old Norse 246 ø₂ was the w-mutation of ę or (rarely) a late i-mutation of ǫ. 1945 S. Einarsson Icelandic i. v. 30 The I-Shift (..i-umlaut, i-mutation) is so called because it was caused by an i or a j— now often lost—in the ending of a word. 1953 L. F. Brosnahan Some Old Eng. Sound Changes 63 The phenomenon of i- or j- mutation. II. Denoting serial order; also used symbolically. 3. Used, like other letters of the alphabet, to denote serial order; marking, e.g. the ninth sheet of a book, or quire of a MS., etc. 4. In Logic, the symbol of a particular affirmative. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > affirmation or predication > signs and symbols A1551 I1552 assertion-sign1906 1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Hvj^v A, dooeth affirme: E, dooeth deny, whiche are bothe vniuersall: I dooth affirme, O dooth deny, whiche we particular call. 1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 262 The Vowels..signifie the qualities, and quantities of the premisses. A. An universall affirmative. E. An universall negative. I. A particular affirmative. O. A particular negative. 1866 T. Fowler Elem. Deduct. Logic (1869) 14 If I be false; A is false, E true, O true. 5. The Roman numeral symbol for One.This was not originally the letter, but a single line denoting unity. It is repeated for the units up to 3 (II, III), formerly, as still on a dial-plate, to 4 (IIII). These are added to symbols of higher numbers, as VI = 6, XII = 12, XXIII = 23, LI = 51, CII = 102, etc. Prefixed to V and X, it diminishes them by 1: IV = 4, IX = 9. (In Middle English manuscripts and early printed books these symbols are very frequent instead of the corresponding words, being usually written with a point before and after, thus, ‘he hadde . iiii. c. knyghtes’.) ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > [noun] > symbol denoting one?c1425 I1450 unit1670 1450 W. Somner in Four C. Eng. Lett. 4 He, with ij or iij of his men. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) I in the ordinary Roman way of numbering signifies One; and when repeated, signifies as many Units as it is repeated times. Categories » 6. Mathematics. In Higher Algebra, i or ι is often used for the imaginary quantity √ − 1, square root of minus one. In Quaternions, i, j, k are symbols of vectors, as distinguished from scalars. 7. a. In Physics I (rarely i) is the symbol of the quantum number of nuclear spin. [Adopted by Back and Goudsmit 1928, in Zeitschr. f. Physik XLVII. 175.] ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > electron spin > [noun] > number representing > symbol of I1930 1930 L. Pauling & S. Goudsmit Struct. Line Spectra xi. 203 i is a new quantum number, the nuclear spin quantum number. 1932 R. F. Bacher & S. Goudsmit Atomic Energy States 20 The spectrum of bismuth, for which the nuclear moment I is 4½, is an interesting example of this type of hyperfine structure. 1966 D. H. Whiffen Spectrosc. iii. 22 Intrinsic nuclear angular momenta are quantised and may be expressed as Iħ where I..is called the spin quantum number. 1967 E. U. Condon & H. Odishaw Handbk. Physics (ed. 2) vii. iv. 68/1 At low magnetic fields I and J are tightly coupled to form a resultant angular momentum F = I + J, whose quantum number F at low fields is a good quantum number. b. Occasionally used as the symbol of the quantum number of isospin (more commonly T n.). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [noun] > vector quantity > symbol of quantum number of T1937 I1953 1953 Progress Theoret. Physics 9 420 In general, selection rules are intimately connected with the conservative quantities which we shall inquire for a system involving Fermions. Those are the total angular momentum J and the total isotopic spin I of the system. 1962 A. Ramakrishnan Elem. Particles & Cosmic Rays i. 31 We use the symbol t for the isotopic spin operator of a system of particles and τ for a single particle, their eigenvalues being denoted by T and I respectively. Initialisms (Abbreviations cited here with full stops are frequently used without them.) See also IHS n. and I O U n. in their alphabetical places. Categories » I n. (Zoology) in dental formulæ = incisor. Categories » I n. [symbolic abbreviation for iodine n.] Chemistry = Iodine. † i. n. Obsolete the earlier equivalent of i.e = id est phr. ΘΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [adverb] > namely or that is to say namelya1200 i.a1300 namandlya1400 scilicet?a1425 videlicet1464 scil.a1500 viz.a1543 innuendo1564 videl.1589 sc.1607 i.e.1662 vid.1676 v.g.1678 a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 554/3 Artimesie, i. mugwrt, i. merherbarum. 1651 J. French Art Distillation i. 40 Then invert it (i) turn it upside down. I. n. = various proper names, as Isaac, Isabella, India, etc.; formerly also = Jesus. Π 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) In Abbreviatures and Cyphers I. frequently represents the whole Word Jesus. I. n. Intelligence (see also I.Q. below). Π 1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings iv. 87 An air reconnaissance is essentially the observer's show; its main object being to supply the ‘I’ people at headquarters with private bulletins from the back of the German front. 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 125 I, the Service abbreviation for ‘Intelligence’, i.e. information of military value. 1972 G. Lyall Blame the Dead xiii. 86 ‘What were you in?’ ‘“I” Corps.’ I.A. n. = Indian Army. Π 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.A.—Indian Army. I.A.A. n. indoleacetic acid (indolylacetic acid). Π 1947 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 169 465 Indoleacetic acid (IAA) tends to stimulate growth in the light. 1969 New Scientist 7 Aug. 272/1 Isolated bacteria were cultured and shown to form IAA from the amino acid tryptophan. I.A.E.A. n. International Atomic Energy Agency. ΚΠ 1958 Times 20 Jan. 6/4 Mr. Robert McKinney, United States member of the I.A.E.A. board of governors. 1958 Times 20 Jan. 6/4 The United States last year already declared its intention to match all contributions of materials to the I.A.E.A. made by other countries up to June, 1960. 1958 P. Noel-Baker Arms Race p. xvii IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency (established in Vienna, October 1957). 1963 Times 28 Sept. 6/7 Sir Roger Makins, chairman of the British Atomic Energy Authority and chief delegate to I.A.E.A. I.A.T.A. n. International Air Traffic (or Transport) Association. Π 1931 Flight 20 Mar. 255/1 I..submitted therefore to the International Air Traffic Association, IATA, a suggestion for organising, at the earliest possible moment, a general European air mail net. 1962 Daily Tel. 11 Sept. 12/3 The continuance of rate-cutting could not be tolerated if IATA was to continue its work. 1970 Internat. & Compar. Law Q. 4th Ser. 19 i. 125 It is something of a surprise that the United States Government and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)..should be proposing a system of absolute liability. I.B.A. n. Independent Broadcasting Authority. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > broadcasting service > [noun] > broadcasting company B.B.C.1923 British Broadcasting Corporation1926 C.B.S.1930 ABC1931 Portland Place1937 Independent Broadcasting Authority1954 ORTF1964 PBS1969 I.B.A.1971 LBC1973 1971 Guardian 12 Nov. 1/8 The Sound Broadcasting Bill..authorises the new stations under the control of the Independent Television Authority—renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority... The IBA could be advanced up to £2 millions to set up the services. 1971 Times 12 Nov. 8/5 The IBA would have the same obligation in radio to devote sufficient time to accurate and impartial news. I.B.M. n. (a) intercontinental ballistic missile; (b) International Business Machines (used to denote the computers made by this firm). ΚΠ 1954 Commonw. 1 Oct. 621/2 The so-called IBM, or intercontinental ballistic missile with nuclear warhead, is the ugly development next to be expected. 1955 Ann. Reg. 1954 402 Reports from the United States referred to a rocket called I.B.M. (intercontinental ballistic missile), a wingless rocket-shaped device already perfected to travel 2,500 miles and expected to have a range of 5,000 miles in due course. 1955 R. J. Schwartz Compl. Dict. Abbrev. 89 I.B.M., International Business Machines. 1956 S. Bellow Seize the Day (1957) ii. 42 When he saw the two sums punched out so neatly on the cards he cursed the company and its IBM equipment. 1956 A. Huxley Adonis & Alphabet 109 Thanks to finger-printing, punched cards and IBM machines, they know practically everything about practically everyone. 1963 I. Fleming On Her Majesty's Secret Service i. 16 Bond's mind ticked and whirred, selecting cards like an IBM machine. 1970 Amer. Jrnl. Physics 38 1294/2 Computations on the jth particle velocity..have been carried out on the Oberlin College IBM 360/44. I.C. n. and adj. = Inspected, Condemned. Π 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.C.—Inspected, Condemned. I.C. adj. in charge, in command. Π 1928 T. E. Lawrence Let. 19 July (1938) iv. 615 No, I am not adjutant, to this camp. Just typist, and i/c files, and duty rolls. 1958 Spectator 15 Aug. 219/1 If you were i/c security, it was obviously necessary to flush the lavatories of spies. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File viii. 51 The above named article of War Department property..should be returned to officer i.c. special issue room. 1965 Listener 11 Nov. 763/2 The commanding officer; the 2 I.C.; the adjutant. I.C. n. Linguistics immediate constituent. ΚΠ 1947 R. S. Wells in Language 23 ii. 81 We aim in this paper to replace by a unified, systematic theory the heterogeneous and incomplete methods hitherto offered for determining immediate constituents (hereafter abbreviated IC, plural ICs). 1953 Language 29 88 Shannon has conducted experiments in ordinary English orthography, and the reviewer has conducted similar ones, with the proper audiences, in terms of phonemic notation, the results of which bear on the stated correlation between IC-analysis and information theory. 1962 B. M. H. Strang Mod. Eng. Struct. vi. 79 They are immediate constituents (ICs), i.e. the forms that directly go to make up that which is under analysis. They themselves have ICs. 1965 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 11 45 Chomsky develops..IC analysis by his grammatical model of ‘phrase structure + transforms’. 1971 D. Crystal Linguistics iv. 212 In IC analysis, however, such disambiguation was impossible. I.C. n. integrated circuit. Π 1966 Electronics 17 Oct. 87 The major problems in using IC's. 1969 New Scientist 18 Dec. 601/3 The IC memory is three times faster than the conventional memory. 1970 J. Earl How to choose Tuners & Amplifiers ii. 28 In a few years' time the majority of radio tuners will carry ICs as well as a few transistors and junction diodes. I.C.A. n. Institute of Contemporary Arts. Π 1958 Listener 20 Nov. 842/1 At the I.C.A. there is an exhibition of three collagists. 1969 Listener 27 Mar. 436/3 The ICA has taken us aback by giving some public performances of a radio work, reproducing it stereophonically in a darkened theatre. I.C.A.O. n. International Civil Aviation Organization. ΚΠ 1947 Times 17 May 3/5 (headline) Italy nominated for I.C.A.O. 1955 Sci. Amer. Jan. 94/3 The specialized agencies of the United Nations..ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). 1963 Thorn Electr. Industr. Group Profile 25 The system has been approved..by the ICAO. I.C.B.M. n. intercontinental ballistic missile. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [noun] missile1945 ballistic rocket1949 ballistic missile1950 I.C.B.M.1955 intercontinental ballistic missile1956 MRBM1960 1955 Newsweek 30 May 13 The Air Force is now calling the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile the ICBM. 1956 Spaceflight Oct. 24/1 The relatively small margin in performance between the I.C.B.M. and a satellite vehicle suggests that great use will be made of it in the future. 1965 I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun ii. 28 Their U-boat fleet and their ICBMs. I.C.E. n. Institution of Civil Engineers. Π 1899 Who's Who 166/1 Major-General Sir John Ardagh, K.C.I.E. 1894, Assoc. I.C.E. I.C.E. n. internal combustion engine. Π 1950 Chambers's Encycl. XV. 586/2 I.C.E.: see Internal Combustion Engine. 1958 Listener 20 Nov. 835/2 The present advanced state of the internal combustion engine, or ‘I.C.E.’ as my log-book calls it. 1968 Economist 25 May 45/3 But now a modern version of the steam engine has appeared as the major threat to the ICE. I.C.F.T.U. n. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Π 1955 Times 30 May 4/4 First, the I.C.F.T.U. will continue its fight to ensure that all workers' rights are respected. 1968 Telegraph (Brisbane) 18 Apr. 10/2 Mr Mick Jordan..represents the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)—a world-wide anti-Communist union body. I.C.I. n. Imperial Chemical Industries. Π 1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. viii. 638 Brunner Mond & Co. was only the embryo of I.C.I. 1964 M. Gowing Brit. & Atomic Energy 1939–45 ii. 75 I.C.I. offered to take over..the Halban and Kowarski research. I.C.S. n. Indian Civil Service. Π 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 May 390/3 The late Ross Scott, I.C.S. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 June 474/3 Paradoxically, the I.C.S. ‘bureaucrat’ in India is the justification of the popularly elected Minister in England. 1957 J. Masters Far, Far the Mountain Peak iii. 27 If Peter has really made up his mind to go to the I.C.S.—it will be wonderful. 1971 Shankar's Weekly (Delhi) 18 Apr. 22/4 The Prime Minister called the ICS Secretaries of the Central Departments some weeks ago and admonished them. I.D. n. = Infantry Drill Regulations. ΚΠ 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.D.R..—Infantry Drill Regulations. (N.) I.D. n. = (Naval) Intelligence Department. ΚΠ 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.D.—Intelligence Department. I.D.A. n. International Development Association. Π 1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 472 The major development among international agencies was the establishment of the International Development Association (I.D.A.). 1965 Economist 26 June 1512/2 The World Bank's ‘soft-loan’ subsidiary, the International Development Association (IDA), already lends for up to fifty years. I.D.B. n. illicit diamond buyer, buying. Π 1884 M. A. Carey-Hobson At Home in Transvaal II. xlii. 520 ‘The fellow had money there, with which he turned I.D.B.’ ‘What's that?’..‘Illicit diamond buyer.’ 1886 W. M. Kerr Far Interior I. i. 15 In spite of the vigilance of the detective department a great deal of illicit diamond buying is successfully carried on; hence the well-known ‘IDB’, which refers to the illegal trade. 1891 E. Glanville Fossicker xxix They have given an unenviable reputation to three letters of the alphabet—I.D.B., which mean ‘Illicit Diamond Buyers’, and refer to some of the most cunning and most unscrupulous rascals in creation. 1899 E. W. Hornung Amateur Cracksman 55 ‘You know what an I.D.B. is?’ ‘Illicit Diamond Buyer?’ ‘Exactly.’ 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 565/1 Since 1888 a special Court has been held at Kimberley for trying cases relating to illicit diamond buying (‘I.D.B.’). 1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay (U.K. ed.) ii. i. 122 Barmentrude..used to be an I.D.B.—an illicit diamond buyer. 1917 New Statesman 17 Nov. 150/1 To represent the typical Bolshevik as a German agent..is just as clever and fair as to try to make out that an I.D.B. from the Rand..is the type of a British Imperialist. 1972 P. Driscoll Wilby Conspiracy (1973) xiii. 163 He does a bit of IDB on the side. So what? He's a jeweller. i.e. n. id est (Latin), that is (to say). ΘΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [adverb] > namely or that is to say namelya1200 i.a1300 namandlya1400 scilicet?a1425 videlicet1464 scil.a1500 viz.a1543 innuendo1564 videl.1589 sc.1607 i.e.1662 vid.1676 v.g.1678 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iii. §3. 45 He dwelt in Pethor by the river, i.e. saith the Chaldee Paraphrast, in Peor of Syria by Euphrates. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 22 Under favourable conditions, i.e. in the perfect State. I.E. n. Indo-European. Π 1894 V. Henry Short Compar. Gram. Eng. & German v. 113 The greater part of such roots as began with the group in question exhibited already in the I.-E. period a peculiar alternation. 1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics viii. 307 The I-E language family is represented all over the world today. I.F. n. (also i.f.) = intermediate frequency n. at intermediate adj. and n. Compounds. Π 1927 H. J. Round Shielded Four-electrode Valve viii. 77 It should be possible to do with only one stage of intermediate frequency on account of the gain per stage in H.F. and I.F. 1956 C. E. Tibbs & G. G. Johnstone Frequency Modulation Engin. (ed. 2) ix. 387 Second channel interference can be avoided by choosing the i.f. to be greater than half the band of frequencies to be covered. 1963 J. A. Walston Transistor Circuit Design xxiii. 321 The difference frequency (IF frequency)..must be such that the transistor will function as an amplifier. I.F.F. n. Identification, Friend or Foe. Π 1945 Electronic Engin. 17 686 An I.F.F. unit can be briefly described as being a transmitter-receiver device installed in friendly aircraft whose purpose is to reply to the interrogation of the friendly Radar station. 1961 Listener 30 Nov. 909/1 The I.F.F. radar identification sets in our bombers. I.F.R. n. Instrument Flight Rules. Π 1948 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 52 90/1 The biggest factor affecting reliable running is the time difference between operations under clear and low visibility conditions, C.F.R. (Contact Flight Rules) and I.F.R. (Instrument Flight Rules) as they are called. 1964 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 40/3 Under IFR, electronic navigation equipment defines the position, and facilitates landing in bad weather or at night. I.F.S. n. = Irish Free State. Π 1929 Whitaker's Alm. 546/1 Money Orders. Advice of Payment: 2d. inland (and to I.F.S.). I.G. n. = Inspector General. Π 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.G.—Inspector General. I.G.C.—Inspector General of Communications. I.G.F.—Inspector General of Fortifications. I.G.D.—Inspector General's Department. I.G.Y. n. International Geophysical Year. ΚΠ 1955 Sci. News Let. 15 Jan. 42/1 Scientists from at least 39 countries, including Russia, are now making plans for coordinated research efforts during 1957–58 in a world-wide investigation of the earth, its seas and air. The many-pronged attack, aimed at a better understanding of the planet we live on, is known as the International Geophysical Year, or IGY. 1964 Economist 11 Jan. 128/3 The IGY lasted 30 months. i.h.p n. Mechanics = indicated horse power. ΚΠ 1894 Times 20 Sept. 4/6 With an expenditure of 110 i.h.p. I.L.O. n. International Labour Organization. Π 1924 B. Webb Diary 8 Jan. (1956) i. 2 The P.M. to meet Thomas, the French head of the I.L.O. at Geneva. 1969 Listener 1 May 614/3 We're going to give legislative backing to the ILO conventions on the right to join trade unions. I.L.P. n. Independent Labour Party. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > politics > British politics > British party politics > [noun] > Labourism > Labour Party > Independent Labour Party Independent Labour Party1888 I.L.P.1893 1893 G. B. Shaw Let. 24 Apr. (1965) I. 390 My remarks..were not levelled at the I.L.P. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 28 Feb. 2/3 The I.L.P. policy kept a sufficient number of Tory working men from voting to allow the Liberal nominee to slip in. 1917 A. Huxley Let. 12 Nov. (1969) 136 I suppose it would pain the poor Duke too much if he sat in Parliament as a member of the I.L.P. 1924 Glasgow Herald 5 Apr. 9 He had had to work on many committees during his time in public life, including committees of branches of the I.L.P. 1932 W. H. Auden Orators iii. 104 The Simonites, the Mosleyites and the I.L.P. 1946 A. Koestler Thieves in Night ii. 91 Max, who has an enormous, sniffing tapir-nose and an unkempt I.L.P.-mane. 1959 Listener 22 Jan. 179/3 A number of intellectuals and I.L.P-ers. I.L.S. n. Instrument Landing System. Π 1947 Shell Aviation News No. 108. 3/1 I.L.S. (Instrument Landing System), G.C.A. (Ground Control Approach), ground radar and flight radar are all proven, available, and should be installed. 1966 New Scientist 13 Jan. 65/1 The special Trident has been trying the ILS of other airports,..and has actually made ‘hands-off’ landings at them. I.M.C.O. n. Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization. Π 1954 Chambers's Encycl. World Survey 42/2 The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO). 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 6/2 After the Torrey Canyon disaster the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) turned to the machinery of the international convention on safety of life at sea to try to establish rules that would ease the threat of pollution. I.M.F. n. International Monetary Fund. ΚΠ 1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (rev. ed.) ix. 330 The main purpose of the I.M.F...is to provide countries that have deficits with the foreign currencies they require to cover those deficits. 1965 New Statesman 23 Apr. 632/2 A determination to invoke the scarce currency clause in the IMF agreement to legalise discrimination against chronically surplus countries. I.M.N.S. n. = Imperial Military Nursing Service. ΚΠ 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. ix I.M.N.S.—Imperial Military Nursing Service. I/O n. Computing input/output. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > data > database > data entry > [noun] > input or output input–output1914 I/O1964 1964 CIS Gloss. Automated Typesetting (Composition Information Services) 19 Input-output (I/O), a general term for the equipment used to communicate with a computer and the data involved in the communication. 1977 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 42 The disparity in the speed of electromechanical I/O and electronic components resulted in ineffective use of the more expensive resources. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 163/1 It also includes ‘I/O redirection’ and ‘pipes’. I.P. n. = Intelligence Police. Π 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. x I.P.—Intelligence Police. I.P.A. n. International Phonetic Alphabet (or Association). Π 1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. vi. 103 There has arisen a convention of transcribing British English, not by the symbols..in accord with the principles of the IPA alphabet. 1954 M. A. Pei & F. Gaynor Dict. Linguistics 105 I.P.A. The International Phonetic Alphabet. 1961 Amer. Speech 36 201 The modified IPA symbols used in the [linguistic] Atlas. 1970 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1968 l. 5 The phonetic notation used in transcribing the responses of the informants is..a finely graded phonetic alphabet based on that of the IPA. i.p.s. n. inches per second. Π 1959 W. S. Sharps Dict. Cinematogr. 104/2 I.P.S., abbreviation for inches per second. 1968 Times 29 Nov. p. ii/1 The rise of the tape recorder was attested by the publication of commercial tapes at 7½ i.p.s. I.Q. n. intelligence quotient (see intelligence quotient n.). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > [noun] > measured degree of intelligence intelligence quotient1913 G1915 mental ratio1921 I.Q.1922 1922 R. S. Woodworth Psychol. xii. 274 Brightness or dullness can also be measured by the intelligence quotient, which is employed so frequently that it is customarily abbreviated to ‘I.Q.’ 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Mar. 230/3 Faith, insight and enthusiasm are more important than all the I.Qs in the world. 1948 A. Huxley Let. 3 June (1969) 582 Cecil Burt sees a drop in the average intelligence of the British population..of 5 IQ points before the end of the present century. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 150 Any man in the infantry or cavalry who has a good I.Q. is sure to have his name turned up..whenever a new typist is needed. 1968 Scottish Daily Mail 16 July 2/1 The questionnaire is a tongue-in-cheek parody of the IQ tests which the U.S. Government gives would-be employees. 1972 Science 20 Oct. 232/2 The IQ tests ignore much in us that is artistic, contemplative, and nonverbal. I.R. n. infra-red. Π 1957 Which? Autumn 7/2 An investigation into the effects, on bottle-makers, of the infra-red and ultra-violet (often referred to as I.R. and U.V.) radiations. 1967 Electronics 40 127/1 A scope tracing that shows i-r energy as a curve derived from the video signal, with the amount of energy determining vertical deflection. I.R.A. n. (a) individual retirement account (U.S.); (b) Irish Republican Army. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [noun] > other investment funds investment fund1784 investment vehicle1920 I.R.A.1921 no-load1963 hedge fund1966 swap fund1966 offshore fund1969 roll-up fund1983 tokkin1985 PEP1986 rolled-up1987 1921 G. B. Shaw Matter with Ireland (1962) 245 The I.R.A. is flushed with success. 1932 Morning Post 23 Aug. 10/3 A force of 200 men of the I.R.A. have seized Donamon Castle. 1939 J. B. Priestley Let People Sing ii. 24 So they thought he was the I.R.A., eh? That explained the bomb, of course. 1959 New Statesman 7 Nov. 615/2 The IRA is now really discredited; young men in the dreary pubs which offer the only way out of the drearier provincial towns of Ireland must find other amusements than plotting. 1971 Guardian 11 Aug. 10/2 The IRA and the Provisionals use the South as a sanctuary. 1974 Forbes 15 Nov. 139/1 Moneymen call these new pension plans IRAs (individual retirement accounts). 1984 Sun (Gainsville, Florida) 3 Apr. 6 b/3 It's been just two years since nearly everybody was invited to open an individual retirement account (IRA), but it's time to assess..how skillfully you're exploiting this tax shelter. I.R.B.M. n. intermediate range ballistic missile. Π 1957 Economist 30 Nov. 774/2 IRBMs are to begin flowing to Europe by late 1958. 1960 Economist 30 July 460/3 In April the official defence policy was laid in ruins with the abandonment of Britain's IRBM, Blue Streak. I.R.O. n. International Refugee Organization. Π 1947 Times 15 May 5/7 Resettlement will still remain one of the main functions of the I.R.O. 1948 Hansard Commons 11 Mar. 1531/1 I.R.O. consented to act as our agents. 1955 Sci. Amer. Jan. 95/1 IRO (International Refugee Organization). I.R.S. n. Internal Revenue Service (U.S.). ΚΠ 1963 Listener 7 Mar. 412/1 The I.R.S. takes good care that the United States citizen abroad knows just where he stands, taxwise. 1964 Financial Times 12 Mar. 24/3 The attitude of the I.R.S. in 1958, after they had caught up with Mr. Wilson, was to say: ‘We're not concerned with your troubles.’ 1972 New York Law Jrnl. 22 Aug. 4/4 (heading) IRS issues rulings on political dinners. ISBN n. International Standard Book Number; cf. SBN n. at S n.¹ Initialisms 1. ΘΠ society > communication > book > book list > [noun] > action of listing or cataloguing books > systems of numbering book number1856 SBN1967 ISBN1969 1969 Proc. Internat. Assoc. Technol. Univ. Libraries Dec. 51 Every book is labelled by an ISBN and each edition, each binding..allotted its own ISBN. 1986 Bookseller 3 May 1776 (advt.) Where to Fish..£11.95 net..Printed case. ISBN 0-948807-00-8. Heavily illustrated. I.S.C. n. Indian Staff Corps. Π 1899 Who's Who 680/1 Late Colonel C. M. Moberly, I.S.C. I.S.O. n. (a) Imperial Service Order; (b) International Organization for Standardization. Π 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 340/1 The members of the order have the distinction of adding the letters I.S.O. after their names. 1909 Whitaker's Almanack 118 Thos. H. Sanderson Sanderson, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., I.S.O. 1947 N.Y. Times 2 Nov. 22/6 Howard Coonley..has been elected president of the new International Organization for Standardization, formation of which has been completed by delegates from twenty-five nations meeting in London... Gustave L. Gerard..has been chosen vice president of the new organization which will be known informally as ISO. 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–9 400/1 The equipment covered by this plan is standard ISO 20 ft steel containers with fork-lift pockets, and standard 40 ft ISO aluminium containers. IT n. information technology. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > [noun] communications technology1941 communication technology1950 information technology1952 computer science1956 computery1960 cyberculture1963 computerdom1968 infotech1981 IT1982 society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines > technology for disseminating information information technology1952 IT1982 1982 Times 14 Jan. (Information Technol. Suppl.) p. iv/6 Teletext and personal computers are IT, but Hollywood movies on a video machine are probably not. 1983 Listener 21 Apr. 38/1 IT includes banking and shopping via your television set. I.T.A. n. Independent Television Authority. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > organization or service television station1926 television network1930 TV station1945 TV network1947 channel1952 Independent Television (Authority)1954 I.T.A.1955 I.T.V.1958 side1961 Channel 41964 MTV1981 1955 Ann. Reg. 1954 385 While viewing through I.T.A. stations would not be possible for some time, competitive bidding for ‘stars’ went on actively. 1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 1 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 There is a distinction to be drawn..between the ITA and independent television (ITV). The ITA is the Authority, the public corporation set up by the Television Act, 1954: independent television comprises not only the ITA but also the programme companies. I.T.A. n. (also i.t.a.) initial teaching alphabet. Π 1965 Guardian 2 Feb. 3/8 Mr Gordon Walker.., adviser to the ITA foundation,..would have to learn more about the initial teaching alphabet. 1967 New Statesman 6 Oct. All the mothers know everything about O- and A-levels, have taken the measure of the 11-plus.., and some have heard of i.t.a. I.T.U. n. International Telecommunication Union. ΚΠ 1950 Chambers's Encycl. XI. 470/1 The International Telecommunations Union (I.T.U.). 1962 B.B.C. Handbk. 113 The BBC also participates in the work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations with its headquarters in Geneva. I.T.V. n. Independent Television. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > organization or service television station1926 television network1930 TV station1945 TV network1947 channel1952 Independent Television (Authority)1954 I.T.A.1955 I.T.V.1958 side1961 Channel 41964 MTV1981 1958 ‘A. Gilbert’ Death against Clock 93 All they talk about is what they saw on ITV last night. 1958 Spectator 27 June 827/3 As the General Election approaches, both BBC and ITV must know where they stand. 1969 Listener 24 Apr. 559/3 While shepherds washed their socks by night And turned on ITV, The Angel of the Lord came down And switched on BBC. I.U. n. (also i.u.) international unit. Π 1950 Chambers's Encycl. XIV. 347/2 The League of Nations standard or requirement for vitamin B₁ is 300 I.U. per day. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 339/1 The chief food value of apricots lies in their roughage and in their vitamin A content—approximately 1,000 i.u. per serving. 1962 Lancet 6 Jan. 12/1 A small bottle..of some 60 ml. capacity, filled to the top with normal saline and containing 1000 i.u. of heparin. I.U.D. n. (also I.U.C.D.) intrauterine (contraceptive) device. Π 1963 New Scientist 19 Dec. 716/3 A simple, cheap, safe and effective method of birth control..known as IUCDs (intrauterine contraceptive devices). 1965 New Scientist 27 May 606/3 When as occasionally happens, conception occurs and gestation proceeds with the IUD in situ, [etc.]. 1966 New Statesman 18 Mar. 370/1 The IUCD consists of a small loop or coil of plastic material which is inserted into the uterus. 1967 Time 7 Apr. 73 The IUD's underlying principle traces back to an old practice of Arab cameleers: putting a round, smooth stone in the womb of a female camel at the start of a long trade journey, to avoid the economic loss of having the animal get pregnant. 1973 Guardian 29 June 13/3 With the nationalisation of birth control virtually every GP in the country will be inserting IUDs. I.V. adv. (also i.v.) intravenous(ly); also as n., an intravenous drip, injection, etc. Π 1951 Dorland's Med. Dict. (ed. 22) 766/2 I.V., abbreviation for intravenously (by intravenous injection). 1961 Amer. Speech 36 145 I.V.,..an intravenous infusion. 1970 New Yorker 21 Nov. 64/2 One of the doctors from Surgery will be coming down soon to put in your I.V. and a stomach tube. 1971 Guardian Weekly 24 Apr. 5/1 The bedside IV feeding bottle. 1972 Nature 8 Dec. 351/1 3 African green monkeys were inoculated i.c. (0·2 ml.) and i.v. (0·3 ml.). I.W.W. n. Industrial Worker(s) of the World. Π 1917 B. Hall Diary 25 July in B. Hall & J. J. Niles One Man's War (1929) 278 The Government had some trouble in Los Angeles with the I.W.W. 1919 H. L. Wilson Ma Pettengill vii. 212 Even the youngest [girl]..had tenaciously held out for a grown man's pay, which made her something even worse than a Bolshevik; it made her an I.W.W. 1920 M. Beer Hist. Brit. Socialism II. iv. xviii. 356 Similar views..led in 1905 to the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). 1920 P. G. Wodehouse Damsel in Distress xxi. 251 Regular I.W.W. stuff. 1923 E. A. Ross Russ. Soviet Republ. 250 The I.W.W. longshoremen of Philadelphia and New York refused to load ships with munitions for Wrangel. 1931 U. Sinclair Rom. Holiday xxv I recognized the I.W.W. lumberjack, the only giant in the crowd. 1957 Encounter Apr. 65/1 That strange and unique contribution of America to anarcho-syndicalism, the ‘Wobblies’ (officially the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW..) organised great masses of unskilled workers and led strikes..that were as much social rebellions as economic conflicts. 1969 Taft & Ross in Graham & Gurr Violence in Amer. viii. 285 Unlike the other national federations.., the IWW advocated direct action and sabotage. I.Y. n. Imperial Yeomanry. Π 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms p. x I.Y.—Imperial Yeomanry. Draft additions June 2017 ILTF now historical International Lawn Tennis Federation, the governing body organizing world tennis. ΚΠ 1920 Amer. Lawn Tennis 15 Apr. 4/2 It was unanimously agreed by those present that the I. L. T. F. should have the power to alter the Laws of the Game. 2015 R. J. Lake Social Hist. Tennis in Brit. v. 87 The formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) in March 1913 brought new challenges. ITF International Tennis Federation, the governing body organizing world tennis, including beach and wheelchair tennis. Π 1977 Washington Post 3 Aug. d6/3 The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will send a delegation to South Africa in November. 1996 Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo) 29 Apr. 20/6 Under ITF rules, a female tennis player must play in the Fed Cup for at least two years in the four years from 1993 to 1996. 2008 M. Frost Amer. Doubles 162 Wheelchair Doubles has become more popular due to a 1998 rule adopted by both the ITF and the USTA. Draft additions 1997 ISDN n. = integrated services digital network n. at integrated adj. Additions. ΘΚΠ society > communication > telecommunication > [adjective] > types of link or network ship-to-ship1904 two-way1922 ship-to-shore1923 multichannel1930 multipath1936 multi-channelled1950 store-and-forward1963 terrestrial1968 ISDN1974 society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > link or network > types of star1924 star network1924 data link1953 downlink1963 uplink1968 integrated services digital network1974 ISDN1974 UMTS1990 1974 Internat. Conf. Communications (Inst. Electr. & Electronic Engineers) 33 e-1 An integrated services digital network (ISDN) is a network in which the various services such as telephony, data and telex use the same switching and transmission facilities. 1986 E. L. Scace in T. C. Bartee Digital Communications iii. 87 One part evolution, one part revolution, and one part philosophy, ISDNs represent a unique historical development. 1993 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 30/7 Now..network operators worldwide have in place national ISDN services..which are simple to use, simple to install and simple to run. 1993 Daily Tel. 24 Feb. 30/8 Britain's ISDN network is already connected to 12 other countries. Draft additions 1993 INF n. intermediate-range nuclear force(s); cf. TNF n. at T n. Additions. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [adjective] > nuclear > qualities of clean1956 low-yield1957 strategic1957 tactical1957 small-yield1959 theatre1977 INF1981 1981 Washington Post 14 Nov. a13/3 The TNF talks on European-based missiles are increasingly being referred to as the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) talks. 1983 Time 31 Jan. 22/2 Some who know him suggest that Nitze is now driven to achieve an INF treaty as a sort of final professional capstone. 1987 P.-H. Renard in R. Trapp Chemical Weapon Free Zones? 96 They have never been the subject of arms control negotiations, as opposed to conventional (MBFR) or nuclear (INF) arms. INLA n. Irish National Liberation Army, formed in the mid-1970s as the military wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warriors collectively > paramilitary groups spec. > [noun] U.V.F.1913 squadra1922 Sturmabteilung1923 steel helmet1925 Schutzbund1927 new guard1932 Silver Shirts1934 Stern gang1944 Umkhonto we Sizwe1961 nahal1963 MK1964 Provisional I.R.A.1970 Black September1971 Red Brigade1971 Black Septembrist1972 U.D.A.1972 Symbionese Liberation Army1973 U.F.F.1973 Amal1976 death squad1976 INLA1979 society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [noun] > societies or associations levellers1762 Hearts of Steel1771 Peep o' Day Boys1780 Rightboys1786 Brunswick Club1828 Orange Order1828 Young Ireland1843 Land league1881 U.I.L.1901 Noraid1974 U.U.U.C.1974 INLA1979 1979 Irish Times 2 Apr. 1/3 Sources say that the INLA is known to include men who are held responsible for much of the 1972 violence. 1983 Listener 19 May 8/3 The most important Provisional to have gone over to the INLA last year is Dominic McGlinchey from Bellaghy in County Londonderry. 1992 Independent 15 Apr. 3/2 In 1990, another INLA man—later reported to be an informer—was killed by undercover troops in an attack on the home of a member of the security forces. I.O.C. n. International Olympic Committee. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > judging or umpiring > [noun] > umpire or referee > specific group I.O.C.1938 1938 Olympische Rundschau (Berlin) Oct. 36 Mr. J. W. Rangell has been elected second representative of Finland on the IOC. 1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports xx. 247 According to the I.O.C., its members are not ‘representatives’ of their nations but ‘delegates from’ that nation to the I.O.C. and delegates to their nations from the I.O.C. 1991 Business Traveller Jan. 33/1 So endemic has drug-taking become among modern athletes that the IOC will have a flying laboratory ready for testing the Olympic class of 1992. IVF n. in vitro fertilization (esp. of human ova). ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > fecundation or impregnation > [noun] > techniques for facilitating IVF1978 gamete intrafallopian transfer1984 GIFT1984 ZIFT1988 1978 BioScience 28 685/1 Members of the new HEW Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) seemed ready to approve the only human IVF research application now awaiting funding at the National Institute of Health. 1990 Sunday Correspondent 6 May 3/3 An interim licensing authority..says the Government is throwing away an opportunity to reduce the IVF death rate. Draft additions September 2003 IAP n. Computing = internet access provider n. at internet n. Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1994 IAP Wish List in alt.internet.services (Usenet newsgroup) 1 May IAP wish list... If you can spare the time, would you mind jotting down a few things along the theme of what you would want from an Internet Access Provider. 1999 L. Lessig & P. Resnick in S. E. Gillett & I. Vogelsang Competition, Regulation, & Convergence ix. 149 The responsibility for assuring a supply of sender labels might be assigned to intermediaries, in this case to the sender's IAP. Draft additions December 2005 IBS n. Medicine = irritable bowel syndrome at irritable adj. Additions c. ΚΠ 1977 Amer. Jrnl. Clin. Nutrition 30 1597 Lactose malabsorption may play a role in the symptoms in the population of some patients with IBS. 1985 Scand. Jrnl. Gastroenterol. 20 Suppl. cix. 107 About five per cent of the adult population each year will see their doctor with complaints that are finally characterised as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 2000 Healthy Living Feb. 44/2 In a German IBS study, patients who took a homeopathic dose of the herb Asafoetida experienced vastly greater relief than did those administered a placebo. Draft additions December 2005 ICU n. Medicine (originally U.S.) intensive care unit. ΚΠ 1959 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Nov. 103/1 When a patient is in critical condition, or for some other reason needs constant watching by professional nurses, the patient is sent to ICU. 2001 L. Voss To be Someone 64 This was the hospital they brought her to because it has an ICU and plastic surgery. Draft additions December 2006 IDP n. = internally displaced person at internally adv. Compounds. Π 1993 E. Mihalkanin in R. F. Gorman Refugee Aid & Devel. vi. 88 The civil war created approximately 620,000 IDPs by 1984. 2006 Africa News (Nexis) 22 Feb. The..protracted 18-year war..has obliterated the physical and economic infrastructure and confined more than a million people in IDP camps surviving on donor aid and handouts. Draft additions September 2008 IED n. improvised explosive device. Π 1971 R. G. Lunger & R. L. Warren Validation of Colt-Tabor Bomb Baskets (Picatinny Arsenal Techn. Rep. No. 4303) iii. 3 The U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel do not have protective equipment for handling, removing, and transporting IED’s. 1987 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 8 Apr. 10/4 Experiments in Northern Ireland had shown the makers of IEDs were so proud of their work they left their initials on the bombs. 2007 Atlantic Monthly June 91/2 Their new drill sergeants gather in the shade, trading stories about IEDs and RPG attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Draft additions September 2006 IMEI n. Telecommunications International Mobile Equipment Identity, a number unique to a GSM mobile phone and usually printed on it, comprising information that can identify the instrument to the network; frequently attributive. ΚΠ 1991 FITCE Jrnl. No. 4. 33/1 The Equipment Identity Register is a logical entity within the GSM system, which is responsible for storing the International Mobile station Equipment identities (IMEI). 2001 Daily Tel. 11 Jan. i. 11/8 The easiest way to improve phone security would be for all mobile phone networks to use an electronic fingerprint, a so called IMEI code. 2005 2600 Summer 50/2 Do you have an old T-mobile phone that you want on prepaid without paying for the activation?.. All you need is the SIM card number, the IMEI number of the phone, and a prepaid airtime card. Draft additions March 2003 IMHO adv. (also imho) colloquial (used chiefly in electronic communications) in my humble opinion; (occasionally also) in my honest opinion. ΚΠ 1984 Re: Info wanted on Beta Tapes in net.video (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Feb. The Sony and Maxell tapes are, imho [in my honest opinion], almost indistinguishable in quality, and are the only kind I buy now. 1993 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 2) 236 IMHO, mixed-case C names should be avoided, as mistyping something in the wrong case can cause hard-to-detect errors. 2001 D. Mitchell Number 9 Dream 51 A decent rain will bring hundreds of umbrellas. Not the most inspiring job, but it beats leaping around a garage forecourt or delivering pizzas, imho. Draft additions March 2003 IMO adv. (also imo) colloquial (used chiefly in electronic communications) in my opinion. ΚΠ 1989 Re: DECwindows: does it use DECnet, TCP or Both? in comp.windows.x (Usenet newsgroup) 18 Jan. DEC is finally beginning to get serious (IMO) about competing in the real world workstation market. 1997 J. Seabrook Deeper v. 174 To propagate idiocy regarding e-mail as viruses.., is, IMO, aggressively and dangerously stupid, not charmingly naive. 2003 Re: Latif vs Gilly in rec.sport.cricket (Usenet newsgroup) 13 Feb. [He] said that he was happy with the resolution. Time to move on, imo. Draft additions October 2001 IP n. Computing = Internet Protocol n. at internet n. Compounds 3; frequently attributive. ΚΠ 1979 J. B. Postel Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 758. 3 In the Internet Protocol (IP) (44) there is a field to identify the next level protocol... This field is called Protocol in the IP header. 1992 UNIX Today! 17 Feb. 56/3 Other sources of public IP networking have started up in the U.K. 1997 J. Seabrook Deeper v. 161 To move around the computers, you had to know their names, or their IP addresses. 2000 Times 3 Aug. (Appointments Network Executive section) 1/2 (advt.) A UK network giving customers access to one of the world's largest IP backbones. Draft additions July 2002 IPA n. = India pale ale n. at India n. 4. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > beer > [noun] > other kinds of beer spruce beerc1500 March beer1535 Lubecks beer1608 zythum1608 household beer1616 bottle1622 mumc1623 old beer1626 six1631 four1633 maize beer1663 mum beer1667 vinegar beer1677 wrest-beer1689 nog1693 October1705 October beer1707 ship-beer1707 butt beer1730 starting beer1735 butt1743 peterman1767 seamen's beer1795 chang1800 treacle beer1806 stock beer1826 Iceland beer1828 East India pale ale1835 India pale ale1837 faro1847 she-oak1848 Bass1849 bitter beer1850 bock1856 treble X1856 Burton1861 nettle beer1864 honey beer1867 pivo1873 Lambic1889 steam beer1898 barley-beer1901 gueuze1926 Kriek1936 best1938 rough1946 keg1949 IPA1953 busaa1967 mbege1972 microbrew1985 microbeer1986 yeast-beer- the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > ale > [noun] > other ales strawberry ale1523 red ale1557 sixteens1584 bottle ale1586 hostler ale1590 Pimlico1609 eyebright1612 quest-ale1681 hugmatee1699 Newcastle brown (ale)1707 pale ale1708 twopenny ale (or beer)1710 twoops1729 flux ale1742 pale1743 Ringwood1759 brown ale1776 light ale1780 blue cap1789 brown1820 India pale ale1837 Tipper1843 ostler ale1861 fourpenny ale1871 four-ale1883 ninepenny1886 Scotch1886 barley wine1940 IPA1953 light1953 real ale1972 ?a1880 Label: Phillips & Wigan, Mortlake Brewery Bodl. Libr., John Johnson Coll.: Labels, Box 13 Please cork & return cask when empty. E.I.P.A. [i.e. East India Pale Ale].] 1953 Word for Word (Whitbread & Co.) 23/1 India Pale Ale (I.P.A.), name originally given to a fine pale ale made for export to troops in India. 1957 J. Braine Room at Top xxx. 247 ‘Will you have a drink with me?’ ‘IPA, please.’ 2001 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 22 Nov. g3/1 Every brewery produces either an IPA or an American pale ale. Draft additions January 2005 IPO n. Stock Market = initial public offering n. at initial adj. and n. Additions. ΚΠ 1976 Barron's National Business & Financial Weekly 19 July 3/1 The flow of IPOs, while still below the frantic pace of 1969, is running well ahead of last year. 2001 Financial Director Feb. 28/3 He was anticipating taking on another IPO or turnaround opportunity. Draft additions July 2002 IRC n. Computing = Internet Relay Chat n. at internet n. Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1989 Re: Multiparty, Real-time, Lightweight Sequenced Communications in comp.sources.d (Usenet newsgroup) 10 Feb. I have recently got ahold of a program called irc (Internet Relay Chat). 1993 Mixmag Apr. 34/1 IRC..enables people to deconstruct aspects of their own identity, and to challenge and obscure the boundaries between some of our most deeply felt cultural significances. 1995 Guardian 24 Mar. 3/4 As my screen oozes with IRC pickup lines, I wonder whether it's worth it to stick around. 2000 ‘Dr. K.’ Compl. Hacker's Handbk. v. 53 The moment you show your nick on an IRC channel like #hack or #phreak you will be making yourself a target for all sorts of mischief. Draft additions July 2002 ISP n. Computing = internet service provider n. at internet n. Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1992 InfoWorld 14 Sept. 62 ISPs are the data network equivalent of telephone companies, providing access to the main Internet network for end-users. You will need to contact an ISP in order to use the Internet. 1997 Independent 5 Aug. (Network Plus section) 7/1 Most ISP and academic institutions run web caches, so if you want to do your bit to reduce Internet congestion, use it! 2001 Contact May 66/3 You'll have the choice of entering your own settings to use the machine with an existing web account, or of setting up a connection to a new ISP. Draft additions December 2005 ITU n. Medicine (chiefly British). intensive treatment (also therapy) unit. ΚΠ 1970 Nursing Times 5 Nov. 1471/1 An ITU containing five beds was opened in May. 1998 G. Adams Casualty (BBC TV production draft) 13th Ser. Episode 6. 44 They evacuated it in theatre and he's up in ITU. Draft additions March 2009 IVM n. Medicine and Biology in vitro maturation, a technique used in assisted reproductive technology in which eggs are harvested at an immature stage and brought to maturity in culture before being fertilized and implanted. ΚΠ 1988 Theriogenol. 29 243 Embryos were generated by in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and culture of ova aspirated from 1-5 mm diameter follicles of slaughterhouse ovaries. 2002 P. Cunningham in K. Schellander et al. Genomics & Biotechnol. Livestock Breeding 4 Problems which remain to be overcome include..culture regimes for consistent success in IVM/IVF; and attaining acceptable fertility rates with frozen semen. 2007 Daily Tel. 25 Oct. 3/2 The boy and girl were born a week ago after they were conceived through doctors using in vitro maturation (IVM)—a technique that is quicker, safer and cheaper than traditional IVF. Draft additions April 2010 ICSI n. Brit. /ˈɪksi/ , U.S. /ˈɪksi/ Medicine and Biology intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a method of in vitro fertilization in which a single sperm is introduced into the cytoplasm of an egg through a micropipette. ΚΠ 1992 G. Palermo et al. in Lancet 4 July 17 Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a promising assisted-fertilisation technique that may benefit women who have not become pregnant by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) or subzonal insemination (SUZI) of oocytes. 2004 New Scientist 30 Oct. 11/1 There have been claims that a penile abnormality called hypospadias is more common in ICSI children. 2009 Mirror (Nexis) 8 Sept. 38 We had four attempts at ICSI and..the emotional and financial pressures were beginning to take their toll. Draft additions June 2016 ICT n. information and communications technology; (also as a count noun) a product or technology relating to this. Π 1986 R. E. Mansell & B. J. Richards Information & Communication Technol. II. p. xii Individuals working in the information technology applications area have been included if they reflected an interest in the social science aspects of ICT. 2002 Jrnl. Managem. & Med. 16 189 ICTs therefore include equipment such as radio, telephone and fax..spanning a continuum from the more ‘low-tech’ to the more ‘high-tech’. 2015 Illawarra Mercury (Austral.) (Nexis) 30 Apr. 17 Showcase this region as a rapidly growing ICT hub with an abundance of smart businesses and tech-savvy young talent. Draft additions June 2016 IIRC adv. (also iirc, iIrc) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) if I recall (or remember) correctly. ΚΠ 1990 Re: Chiapucci didn't use tri-bars!? in rec.bicycles (Usenet newsgroup) 25 July Disc wheels—used by Francesco Moser for pushing the 1 hour TT record over the 50 km/h level, beginning of '84, i.I.r.c.?! 1997 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 15 Mar. IIRC—If I Recall Correctly. 2014 @earthdyedred 31 Jan. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) The Planetary Folklore album which, IIRC, is the only single album I've ever paid over $18 for. Draft additions June 2016 ICYMI adv. (also icymi) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) in case you missed it. ΚΠ 2000 in alt.music.billy-joel (Usenet newsgroup) 20 July (subject line) Billy Joel on the Onion (ICYMI). 2006 Hill (Nexis) 25 Jan. 43 The practice of sending out such positive-spin e-mails is not just in Ney's office... In some offices it has become so commonplace that they use the abbreviation ICYMI (‘in case you missed it’). 2015 Adweek (U.S.) 6 Apr. 14/1 There's a dirty little secret..in our industry. ICYMI, Patricia Arquette gave it a shout-out at this year's Oscars—the gender pay gap. Draft additions June 2016 IRL adv. (also irl) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) in real life; in the physical world, rather than online or in a virtual environment. ΚΠ 1988 Hershey Fonts in comp.sources.wanted (Usenet newsgroup) 18 Jan. INTERNET: msn@bikini.cis.ufl.edu I.R.L. Michael S. Newsome. 3632 NW 4th Pl. [etc.]. 1993 H. Rheingold in L. M. Harasim Global Networks iv. 63 I remember the first time I walked into a room full of people (IRL) whose faces were completely unknown to me, but who knew many intimate details of my history and whose own stories I knew very well. 2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 June c3/1 The young revel in new gadgets... They beg for them in acronym-laden speeches because OMG, you need this stuff to be cool IRL. Draft additions June 2016 IDK v. (also idk) colloquial (chiefly in electronic communications) I don't know. ΚΠ 1931 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Aug. 326/1 Miss Susan Lawrence said she regarded with some liking the doctor who, as reported by Mr. Meller, wrote ‘I.D.K.’ (I don't know) on a certificate. 1990 Re: Multimedia in comp.sys.amiga (Usenet newsgroup) 26 Apr. You can..(dont ask me how..) send in data to a company (which, you ask? i don't know) and have it transferred onto CD ROMs relatively cheaply..(relative to what? IDK). 2013 Daily Cardinal (Univ. Wisconsin) (Nexis) 24 Oct. (Page-Two section) 1 Some claim absence makes the heart grow fonder. Idk about that though. Draft additions June 2016 IDC v. (also idc) colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) I don't care. ΚΠ 1989 Re: Thought Exper. about News.Groups in news.admin (Usenet newsgroup) 2 June When you call for votes there's more than just a YES or NO involved. There's a third category: I Don't Care (IDC). 1997 J. Suzanne Twins go to College ix. 104 Elizabeth put down her spoon. ‘So where's Susan?’ she wanted to know. ‘IDK and IDC,’ Jessica said smugly. 2011 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 13 Aug. a17 Ravi indicated that Mr. Clementi's orientation did not bother him. In one exchange, he wrote, ‘I'm not really angry or sad idc.’ Draft additions June 2017 I-formation n. (a) American Football an offensive formation in which the quarterback and two or more running backs (typically a fullback and a tailback) form a line behind the ball, at right angles to the line of scrimmage; (b) Tennis a formation in doubles matches in which the server stands close to the centre mark on the baseline and his or her partner stands close to the centre service line. Π 1951 Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News 24 Mar. 10/8 (heading) V.M.I. grid coach has ‘I’ formation. Abolishes fullback post, uses three halfbacks. 1970 N.Y. Times 13 July 33/8 The former football player appeared unfamiliar with doubles play. ‘Stay there, stay there,’ Mr. FitzGibbon kept calling to his partner. ‘We're in the “I” formation.’ 2014 N.Y. Times 3 Jan. (Late ed.) b9/5 I loved the I-formation, running full speed and hitting people. 2016 G. Marzorati Late to Ball xli. 200 There was no strategizing to our game—no talk of serving out of an I formation. Draft additions January 2018 ICC n. International Law International Criminal Court. ΚΠ 1943 Draft Convent. for Creation of Internat. Criminal Court Art. 4 in Free World (1944) Feb. 188/2 The I.C.C. is deemed for the purpose of this Convention a Criminal Court common to all nations. 1992 World Today Feb. 31/2 An ICC would need to be backed up by an international law-enforcement agency. 2017 D. Cubie Internat. Legal Protection of Persons Humanitarian Crises vii. 219 The ICC has jurisdiction in respect of war crimes. Draft additions January 2018 ICJ n. International Law International Court of Justice. ΚΠ 1947 Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law 41 134 It was urged that the United States support the ICJ in various ways. 1992 P. W. Birnie & A. E. Boyle Internat. Law & Environment ix. iii. 360 The ICJ declined to decide whether atmospheric tests carried out by France violated customary international law. 2017 Thai News Service (Nexis) 21 Apr. Kyiv filed a lawsuit against Russia at the ICJ for intervening militarily. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022). Ipron.n.² Brit. /ʌɪ/, U.S. /aɪ/ Forms: (Capitalization in Middle English examples frequently reflects the editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) 1. α. Old English ich (Northumbrian), Old English ih (Northumbrian), Old English–early Middle English ig (rare), Old English–Middle English ic, late Old English–early Middle English hic, late Old English–early Middle English icc, late Old English–Middle English yc, early Middle English Hic, early Middle English Hit (transmission error), early Middle English hyc, early Middle English Ic, early Middle English Icc, early Middle English ick (northern), early Middle English Iic, early Middle English Ik (east midlands and northern), early Middle English it (transmission error), early Middle English yg, Middle English ik (chiefly east midlands and northern), Middle English ike (east midlands and northern), Middle English yk; Scottish pre-1700 ic, pre-1700 ik. eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 34/2 Conuenio, ic groetu.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xvi. 11 Quare non intellegitis quia non de pane dixi uobis cauete a fermento pharisaeorum : forhon ne oncneu ge forðon ne of hlafe sægdig iuh behaldas ge from darste uel from ðærfe ðæra aldra.OE (Northumbrian) Rushw. Gospels: John i. 34 Et ego ueni et testimonium perhibui quia hic est filius dei electus : & ic com & cyðnisse uel witnisse ih gitrymede forðon ðes is sunu godes lufende.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 55 Ic hyne cann, & gif ic secge þæt ic hine ne cunne, ic beo leas.lOE Writ of Edward the Confessor (Sawyer 1121) in F. E. Harmer Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952) 344 And icc wille & fæstlice bebeode be fulre wite þæt þeos mundbyrdnesse beo strang & staþelfæst.lOE Will of Ælfgifu (Sawyer 1484) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 20 And ig an Ælfwæræ miræ swystær eallæs þæs þæ ic hiræ alenæð hæfdæ.lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 15 Hic wondrie þin, hwi þu secge þæt þu gode nawiht gelices nyte.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 13 Icc hafe wennd inn till enn-glissh. Godd spelless hallȝhe lare.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 13 Þenne sende ic eou rihte widerunge and ic eou wille ȝeuan wela.a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 60 To nyme bote ig am redy. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 304 For..noble shrud, Þat hic haue youen hire to offte; Hic haue yemed hire to softe.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 22 Ye lif yat hyc ledh.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 34 Giue me seli timinge..Queðer-so hic rede or singe.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 315 Ic wene ðat ic and eue hise wif Sulen adam bilirten.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 24797 Þis ilke tim þat ike [a1400 Gött. i] of sai.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23921 For med ik [a1400 Vesp. ic] ask a litil bon Þat ik [a1400 Vesp. i] biseke wit wordis quon.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. l. 228 Ac I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete.c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 13 But ik [c1415 Corpus Oxf. c1430 Cambr. yk] am oold, me list no pleye for age.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 384 As ic hard say. β. Old English (rare)–Middle English (1900s– nonstandard) i, early Middle English Hi, early Middle English hi, early Middle English Hy, early Middle English ij, early Middle English yi, early Middle English yj, early Middle English–1500s y, early Middle English– I, Middle English a (Yorkshire and Norfolk), Middle English e, Middle English hij, Middle English hy, Middle English j, Middle English Y, 1700s– a (regional), 1800s– ah (regional), 1800s– oi (regional); U.S. regional (chiefly south Midland and southern) 1800s– ah, 1800s– uh, 1900s– Ah, 1900s– Hi, 1900s– Oy, 1900s– oy, 1900s– u; English regional 1700s– a (chiefly northern and north midlands), 1800s ai (Devon), 1800s au (northern and north midlands), 1800s aye (Yorkshire), 1800s ee (northern), 1800s eh (Lancashire), 1800s eigh (Yorkshire), 1800s ha (Yorkshire), 1800s O (Yorkshire), 1800s– Aa (northern), 1800s– aa (northern), 1800s– Ah (northern and north midlands), 1800s– ah (northern and north midlands), 1800s– aw (northern and north midlands), 1800s– hah (Yorkshire), 1800s– Oi, 1800s– oi, 1900s– A (chiefly northern and north midlands), 1900s– hi (Worcestershire); Scottish pre-1700 i, pre-1700 y, pre-1700 1700s– I, pre-1700 1800s– a, 1800s– Aw, 1800s– aw, 1900s– A, 1900s– Aa, 1900s– Ah, 1900s– ah, 1900s– Eh (Dundee), 1900s– eh (Dundee), 1900s– ey (Dundee); also Irish English 1800s a' (northern), 1800s– a (northern), 1800s– Oi (southern), 1800s– oi (southern), 1900s– A (northern), 1900s– Ah (northern), 1900s– ah (northern); also Australian 1900s– Oi, 1900s– O'i, 1900s– oi. OE Cambridge Psalter (1910) cxli. 5 Considerabam ad dexteram et uidebam et non erat qui agnosceret me : ic sceawode to þære swiðran & i geseah & næs þe oncnewe me.lOE Salisbury Psalter xxix. 9 Ad te domine clamabo, et ad deum meum deprecabor : to þe hlaford i clypige & to drihtene minan ic gebidde.?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 I ne can ne I ne mai tellen alle þe wunder.a1225 Scribble (Corpus Cambr. 188) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 66 Þine mot ihc gon mayde sweete lef wine mot hi.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 283 A hwat schal i nu don?a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 Hwar ich was and hwat i dude.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 118 Hi [a1300 Jesus Oxf. Ich] ne saȝe it nocht.c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 139 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 110 Hire heþene name ne j nouȝt telle.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 309 Get ic wene I can a red. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xiv. 27 Haue ȝe trust, I [a1425 L.V. Y] am; nyl ȝe dreede [1526 Tyndale It is y, be not a frayed].a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 371 Bot þarfor scaples was it a tru [a1400 Fairf. I traw] þat it had nan þan suilk als nu.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 25408 To þe mak j mi bon.c1400 J. Gower Eng. Wks. (1901) II. 486 Among the ten comandementz y rede.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 31 So hadde I spoken with hem euerichoon That I was of hir felaweshipe anon.1411 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 19 Also y be-queyth to William my son an aburioun of stele.?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 1 But a litelle y reioysed me.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 242 Yar-throuch he deyt weill I wat.1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xlii As I haue sayde (therfore) I say agayne.1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lj^v I Charles went nexte to hym.1568 ( D. Lindsay Satyre (Bannatyne) l. 2249 in Wks. (1931) II. 190 Thair is to cum a [1602 I] say ȝow, The best pairte of our play.1611 Bible (King James) Gen. ix. 9 I, behold I, establish my covenant with you.1653 W. Basse in I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 80 I care not, I, to fish in seas.1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 317 They have been all as bad as I.1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 54 I cou'd not tell Money, not I.1823 Knight's Q. Mag. 1 300 Oi say, sirree, where be'st the gwain?1825 Yorks. Garland 16 Ah can milk, kern, fother, beeak, brew, sheear, winder.1884 R. Holland Cheshire Gloss. at Oi If yo dunna tell him, oi shall.1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career xvi. 132 Sure O'i can't plaze yez anyhows.1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. iii. 79 Ah learnt all ah know 'bout pickin' de box in Polk County.1950 C. U. Gardiner in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 425/3 [Perthshire] He's aye nifferin in aboot the smiddy; A dunno what he's efter.1973 Black World Sept. 58 As i cradle the remembrance Of your softsweet shoulders.1973 Sunday Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 1 Apr. (Suppl.) 13/1 Ah on de road, Putting out me hand Like a mas in a band.1989 W. N. Herbert in Chapman 55–6 93 Whan Dundee gleikit in view Whan Eh wiz fehv.1990 Viz Oct. 6/1 'Ow would they loike it if oi came to the big city and 'ad a picnic in they gaaarden?1993 M. Sinclair Soor Plooms & Candy Balls 1 Wean, could ye get me fags, ah forgot ah hidnae any.1995 J. Barclay Paras over the Barras (2002) i. 8 Ah was too frightened tae move in case he came oot and Ah was beaten to it. γ. late Old English (rare)–1600s ich, early Middle English ch (probably transmission error), early Middle English Hich, early Middle English hich, early Middle English icche, early Middle English ichc, early Middle English ichs, early Middle English icht, early Middle English ics, early Middle English Ih, early Middle English ih, early Middle English Ihc, early Middle English ihc, early Middle English ihic (probably transmission error), early Middle English iho (transmission error), early Middle English Iich, early Middle English iich, early Middle English yh, early Middle English–1500s ych, Middle English Ich, Middle English jch, Middle English yche, Middle English–1500s iche; English regional (south-western) 1700s–1800s ich, 1800s iche (Somerset), 1800s ichy (Dorset), 1800s ish (Devon), 1800s uch, 1800s utch, 1800s utchy (Somerset); Irish English (Wexford) 1800s ich. lOE Canterbury Psalter lxxvi. 2 Voce mea ad dominum clamavi : mid stefne mine to drihtne ich cigede uel clepode.c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: John (Hatton) viii. 14 Ich wat hwanon ich [OE Corpus Cambr. ic] com, & hwider ich [OE Corpus Cambr. ic] ga.a1225 Scribble (Corpus Cambr. 188) in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 66 Þine mot ihc gon mayde sweete lef wine mot hi.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 Ih ileue gode..ich ileue þet god is.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 77 Þe worde þet iho [read ihc] speke to ou of mine muþe.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 8 Þe þinges þet ich write her.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 128 Hich þe wile sigen soþe cweþes.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 867 Þar to ich helpe, God hit wot. Ne singe ih [a1300 Jesus Oxf. ich] hom no foliot.?a1300 Fox & Wolf l. 36 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 26 Be stille, ich hote, a godes nome!c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 953 Ihc habbe walke wide Bi þe se side. ▸ c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 1377 Ihc haue ther-offe douthe and kare.c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. i. l. 14 Esteward ich byhulde after þe sonne, And sawe a toure, as ich trowede.c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 916 Now wyf quod he, here nys but thow and I..Leuere ich hadde to dyen on a knyf Than thee offende trewe deere wyf.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 1382 As yche vnderstonde.a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail lii. l. 692 Mochel lever hadde Ich here to dye.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 135 I must haue reuerence. Why, who be ich?a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 219 Ich am not cast away.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36 With cap and knee, ich will serue thee, what should ich more declare.1575 J. Awdely Fraternitye of Vacabondes (new ed.) sig. B1 My maysters ich am an old man, and halfe blinde.1589 Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 169 Iche pray you good mother tell our young dame, Whence I am come and what is my name.a1648 T. Davies in Graphic & Hist. Illustr. (1832) I. xxii. 343 Dost thinke 'chill labor to be poore, No, no, ich have a doe..Ich will a plundring too.1658 W. Chamberlayne Loves Victory 56 Ich cant abide these Courtnowles.1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Ich, a Word us'd for I in the Western Parts of England.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 52 Ich, I... Ich am, I am... Ich 'as, I was.1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 34 In a small district containing two or three villages, among which is Kingsbury,..the use of utch for ‘I’ is still common. δ. early Middle English his, early Middle English is; English regional (south-western) 1700s ees (Devon), 1700s es, 1700s Iss (Devon), 1700s–1800s ise, 1700s–1800s us (Somerset), 1800s Ice (Somerset), 1800s is (Cornwall), 1800s ize. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 223 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 173 Neure in helle hi com [v.r. ic ne com], ne þer ne come reche, Þach ich elches worldes wele þer me mahte feche, þet his [v.rr. ich, ic] wulle seggen on þat wise men us seiden.c1225 ( Ælfric Gram. (Worcester) 156 Praeuideo, is foresceawe [OE St. John's Oxf. ic foresceawige].1340 Ayenbite (1866) 251 Ich habbe hier be-uore y-ssewed, huer þet is [Fr. ie = je] spek of þe wyttes of þe zaule.1777–8 R. Wight Horæ Subsecivæ (MS Bodl. Eng. lang. d.66) 4 Us for I, as Ise in Somerset.1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) at Vort ‘Es thort thou coudent a vort zo;’ I thought you could not have fought so. West.1795 ‘P. Pindar’ Royal Visit Exeter i. 4 But than agan Iss can't but zay.1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 79 In the Western parts of Somersetshire, as well as in Devonshire, Ise is now used very generally for I.1843 J. O. Halliwell Coll. Pieces Dial. Zummerzet 3 Az Ice ztood thare O how my hart did quiver.1873 W. P. Williams & W. A. Jones Gloss. Somersetshire 20 Ize warrant you wunt.1876 L. L. Bonaparte in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1875–6 581 Us went at Montacute [south Somerset], means both I went and we went. ε. Chiefly English regional (south-western) 1500s chee, 1500s–1700s che. 1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36^v Chee vore tha cham no clowne.1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. E2^v Che trow, cha taught him his lesson.a1600 T. Deloney Garland Good Will (1631) ii. sig. F3 Ah, ah, che zmell thee now man, che well know what thou art.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Keepe out, cheuore ye [1623 che vor' ye].1717 Obliging Husband 9 Che know not what you mean by numicate [= communicate] it to me. 2. Combined with a preceding or following word (usually a verb). a. Enclitic. α. Old English -icc, Old English–early Middle English -ic, early Middle English -ih, early Middle English -yc, early Middle English -yh, early Middle English -yk, Middle English -ch, Middle English -che, Middle English -ich, Middle English -iche, Middle English -ik, Middle English -ike, Middle English -yke; see also nich adv.OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 17 Ða cwæð seo duruðinen to petre, cwyst ðu, eart ðu of ðyses leorningcnihtum; Ða cwæð he, nicc [c1200 Hatton nich] ne eom ic.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 53 No lengre nulich [c1225 Bodl. nule ich] hit heolen þe.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 337 Ah natih [c1225 Bodl. nat i] hwet me makede her forte sechen..Hwi nefdich [c1225 Bodl. nefde ich] iwist hwuch weane me wes toward?c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Ellesmere) (1872) C. §4. l. 619 Lat be quod he it schal not be so theech [c1405 Hengwrt thee ich, c1415 Corpus Oxf. þeche, c1415 Lansd. þeiche, c1425 Petworth theche].a1425 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Wales 733B) (1960) A. v. l. 142 So þike [c1400 Trin. Cambr. I swere now, soþly, þat synne shal I lete].a1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Bodl.) (1869) B. v. l. 228 Þeik [c1450 Rawl. theich, c1400 Laud I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete]. β. early Middle English -i, Middle English -y; English regional (chiefly northern) 1700s–1800s -E, 1800s -e, 1800s–1900s -i. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 129 Ne ami noht crist??a1300 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Digby) (1907) l. 27 Harde gates haui gon.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 23 Wit my roc y me fede; Cani do non oyir dede.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 23 Fayrer ho [= on] lond hawy non syen..Yar for amy cummen here.a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 39 Nauy þe none harmes to heþe.c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §40. 49 Thus hauy 2 degrees.c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §1. 15 Than haddy..the ful experience.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 14892 Seint Bede so herdy telle [?a1400 Petyt so herd I telle].1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 55 Mun E maak a bit a Braad Mudder.1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) I is sometimes pronounced like E, particularly when the pronoun follows the verb, as ‘do-E’, for I do.?1851 A. Bywater Gossips 21 A! what ivver mun e do?1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorkshire Folk-talk (1911) 23 We say Ah mun cum (I must come), whereas ‘must I come?’ would be expressed by mun ĭ cum? γ. English regional (Somerset) 1800s -ees, 1800s -es, 1800s -ez. 1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 34 Bee gwaa·yn, bae·ŭn ĕes? ‘I am going, am I not?’1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 35 In this dialect [i.e. Montacute, south Somerset] ees is only used..interrogatively and finally, and..its connexion with ich is very doubtful.1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Es, ez,..I (enclitic);..[Aay spoo·uz kun kaa-n kaa·n-ees?] I suppose (I) can carry it, can I not? b. Proclitic or with enclitic verb. α. early Middle English hi-, early Middle English i-, early Middle English–1500s y-, early Middle English– I- (now regional and nonstandard), 1700s– a- (regional), 1800s– ah- (regional), 1800s– oi- (regional). Frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 220 Ich wealde more þan idude [a1225 Lamb. ich dede].a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 4 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 220 Þeih ibie [a1225 Lamb. ich bo] a winter eald.a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 225 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 226 Nafre an helle ine cam..ich.a1250 Lofsong Louerde in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. Minor Creed 217 Ibileue on ðe holi goste.c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) 107 in O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete (1866) 27 For him i^c wole þane deþ afonge: ynabbe þerof no doute.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1053 Inot hou hii miȝte To be bi hom sulue in an herne.a1350 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Harl.) (1907) l. 58 Adam, þou hauest aboht sore, Inul soffre þat no more.c1560 Trag. Rich. II (1870) 96 Wert thou aliue to see How Ile reuenge thy tymless tragedye On all ther heads.1567 Triall of Treasure sig. B If you will giue me leaue yle tell ye howe.1567 Triall of Treasure sig. Biii Ise teache you to speake.1568 Wyf of Auchtirmwchty l. 116 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 324 And [= if] we fecht Iill gett the woir.1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. iv. 38 Ile be a candleholder and looke on.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Ile [1623 Ice] trie whether your coster or my battero be the harder.a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. i. 1 Go, Ile hold.1657 J. Trapp Comm. Ezra x. 44 Ile meddle with none of them.a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) IV. 183/2 [North Country] Ile mow my Meggy.1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxiii. 308 I'd a better Opinion of thy Spirit!1765 in T. Percy Reliques II. 141 Nay, death Ild rather chuse!1778 C. Graham Misc. Pieces 66 A's fain to see the', and as laith to part.1865 T. Clarke Jonny Shippard's Journa in Specimens Westmorland Dial. 11 Let ma git theear, an a's mebbie preeave a bit aaldther ner tha tak ma ta be.1893 E. Field Poems (1922) 529 An' sez, sez he: ‘For sayin' phwat Oi did,’ sez he, ‘Oi'm sorry!’1919 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. 5 Dec. (1993) III. 139 Don't, because youre exquisitely tender spare me. Id rather not besporn.1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 136 ‘Whar you gwine?’ she said. ‘Ah'm goan home,’ he said.1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 26 Ile fetch are kid on to yer!1985 Texas Monthly May 194/3 If ah'm fixin' t'swerve t'th raht, ah need t' stomp on m' left foot.1994 Sun Zoom Spark Dec. 29/4 Id never ever seen an erection before. β. early Middle English ic-, early Middle English ih-, early Middle English ik- (east midlands), early Middle English jch-, early Middle English–1500s ich-, early Middle English–1600s (1800s Irish English (Wexford)) Ich-, Middle English ych-, 1800s utch- (Somerset). In later use often showing reanalysis as I cham, I chill, etc., and even Ich cham (see quot. a1549).c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 80 Ichulle [c1225 Bodl. ich schal] leoten deor to teoren ant to luken þe.c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) l. 109 Ichim [c1225 Bodl. ich him] luuie.c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 8359 Ich hom abbe..iholpe er ywis & ȝut icholle her after more.c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) l. 946 Ȝif y swere, icham forsworn.c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) l. 428 Bot þat ichim wald of-sende.a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 22 Myself ycholde ȝef þat y myhte.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 73 Holi churche Icham [c1400 Trin. Cambr. I am].a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 389 He dipartede hem..In what maner y chulle ȝow say.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 536 'Cudberth of Dereham,' he sayde, 'ychame'.a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 1 Tell you I chyll, If that ye wyll.a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) i. 122 Iche cham a Cornyshe man.?1567 Merie Tales Master Skelton sig. Ci I cham sicke; I chill go home to bed.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36^v In husbandry, icham truely, ycounted to excell.1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iv. xi I chill look to you.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 52 Ichul, I will.1877 Trans. Philol. Soc. 580 At Merriott, near Crewkerne,..and..at Montacute..I will, I would..are rendered by utchill, utchood. γ. colloquial and regional 1500s–1700s ch- (English regional (south-western) in later use), 1600s (1800s– English regional (south-western) in later use) 'ch-, 1800s 'c' (English regional (Somerset), before h); Irish English (Wexford) 1800s ch, 1800s 'ch. 1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 An olde sage father fole in Kente..said, ye masters, say euery man what he wil; cha marked this matter wel as som other.1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 By my fayth maysters quod he..by the masse cholde twere a faire fish pole.1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 278/1 Nay byr Ladye maisters, quod he, yche cannot tell you why, but chote well it hath.a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 29 Oh! cham a-cold.a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 31 Chyll go tell my moother.?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. Biij Cha caute a corage of slouth.1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes lxix. sig. Bvii^v By Iys cham a shamd.1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes xlix. sig. Bvii^v Cha forgote it quight... At shrift chad my Pater noster.1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. B.iiii Chyl ley my gowne.a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. iii. sig. B.iij^v Chad not so much ichotte not whan, Nere since chwas bore chwine.a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Fii Chill say no more, lest I offende.1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 36 Though icham not, zo zeemlie chwot, as bene the Courtnoles gay.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle i. iii. sig. Aiii Chwere but at noddy to venter where cha no neede.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. i. sig. Bii Chym goodly rewarded, cham I not.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. i. sig. Biii And channot sum what to stop this gap cham vtterly vndone.1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle iii. iii. sig. Ciii^v Woulde chad her by the face choulde cracke her callet crowne.1580 H. Gifford Posie of Gilloflowers ii. sig. Q.3 If that iche durst..Chould pray thee carrie him some clothes.1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 459 By my vaye, chame more wearye..than yif chad gone to plowe all this daye.1589 ‘M. Marprelate’ Hay any Worke for Cooper 39 Chwarnt tee ti vorehead zaze hard as horne.1599 Hist. Syr Clyomon & Clamydes sig. F Iesu how cham beraid.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 232 Chill not let goe Sir..and chud haue beene swaggar'd out of my life.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 236 'Chill pick your teeth sir.a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub i. i. 75 in Wks. (1640) III 'Cham no mans wife, But resolute Hilts.1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden iv. v, in Wks. (1873) III. 185 Then zay cha bewrai'd the house I coame on.a1648 T. Davies in Graphic & Hist. Illustr. (1832) I. xxii. 343 'Chill zell my cart and eake my plow.a1648 T. Davies Somersetsh. Man's Compl. in Specimens Eng. Dial. (1879) 9 'C ham sure that made vs slaues to be.1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 4 A Western man [would speak it] thus, Chud eat more cheese an chad it.1746 Exmoor Scolding (ed. 3) ii. 13 Ched et in my Meend, and zo chave still. But chawnt drow't out bevore tha begen'st agen, and then chell.1746 Exmoor Courtship 31 Now chave a zeed ye, 'tes zo good as chad eat ye.1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 188 Bread and cheese 'c' have a had, That 'c' had 'c' have a eat, More 'ch wou'd 'c' had it.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 84 'Cha jeist ee-rid apan A laafe ing lemethès chote wel ta ba zang.1873 W. P. Williams & W. A. Jones Gloss. Somersetshire 20 'Cham, I am; 'Ch'ool, I will; 'Ch'ood, I would, &c.1901 H. Kingsford in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 299/2 [Worcestershire] 'Ch 'oonder. Constantly used by Farmer Hemns of Broomhall.1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 35 In a small area of Somerset..at least until a few years ago, if not at present, the old pronoun ich could be heard as in 'chill, I will or 'cham, I am. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ik (West Frisian ik), Old Dutch ic, ik, ih (Middle Dutch ic, ik, hic, Dutch ik), Old Saxon ik, (rarely) ek, ec (Middle Low German ik), Old High German ih (Middle High German ich, German ich), Old Icelandic ek, Norn (Shetland) yagh, yach, (enclitic) -a, Norwegian (Nynorsk) eg, (Bokmål) jeg, Old Swedish iak (Swedish jag), Old Danish iak, æk, ak (Danish jeg), Gothic ik, and also forms shown by early North Germanic runic inscriptions ek, ik, (as enclitic) -eka, -ka, -ika, -ak, ultimately < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἐγώ (also ἐγών), classical Latin ego, Sanskrit aham, Old Church Slavonic azŭ (also jazŭ), Old Prussian as, (rare) es, Lithuanian aš, †eš: these forms apparently represent several different extensions of the same base, or in some instances this base without any extension.The paradigm of first person pronouns. The paradigm of first person personal pronouns in Indo-European shows (at least) four separate base forms, which occur in a suppletive relationship in the paradigm. Thus the nominative singular and the various oblique singular forms are from two distinct bases, and the nominative plural and the various oblique plural forms are from two further distinct bases. The nominative and oblique dual forms do, however, appear to be ultimately from the same bases as the respective plural forms, although the relationships between them present various points of difficulty. This pattern is broadly preserved in Old English, and can be summarized as follows: Singular nominative ic , accusative me , also mec , dative me , genitive mīn , possessive adjective mīn ; Dual nominative wit , accusative unc , also uncet , dative unc , genitive uncer , possessive adjective uncer ; Plural nominative we , accusative ūs , also ūsic , dative ūs , genitive ūre , possessive adjective ūre . For fuller information on each of the forms and their functions see the entries me pron.¹, n., and adj., mine adj. and pron., wit pron., unk pron., unker pron., unker adj., we pron., n., and adj., us pron., n., and adj., our pron. and adj. The accusative forms mec , uncet , ūsic did not survive into Middle English. The dual forms are not found after the early 14th cent. The genitive singular of the personal pronoun (as opposed to the use of the possessive adjective as possessive pronoun) did not survive into Middle English (see note at mine adj. and pron.); on the history of the genitive plural of the personal pronoun after the Old English period see our pron. On the development (in early Middle English) of the form mī as a variant of the possessive adjective mīn before a consonant, and the eventual distinction (in modern English) between these forms as possessive adjective and possessive pronoun respectively, see discussion at my adj., int., and pron. From the 14th cent. the new possessive pronoun form ours pron. is found, varying with our pron. in early use. Form history. The usual development of Old English ic was to show palatalization and assibilation of the consonant (in a context following a high vowel), although this is rarely reflected in spelling forms until the Middle English period, since the Old English spelling ic could reflect either the velar or the palatalized and assibilated sound. (See Forms 1γ.) Later examples at Forms 1α certainly show a velar /k/ rather than assibilated /tʃ/; however, this is probably due to influence of the forms in Scandinavian languages, rather than to failure of the palatalization and assibilation in Old English. The modern English form I and the other forms at Forms 1β probably result ultimately from Old English forms with lenition of /k/ to /x/, as reflected by the (Northumbrian) form ih (and probably also by ig and ich , although the latter may simply show an unusual spelling for the velar plosive: see Forms 1α). Although recorded only in Northumbrian, this change was probably more widespread, and probably occurred in positions of low stress. (See R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§7.52–3.) (It is possible that quots. OE, lOE at Forms 1β simply show scribal errors rather than early examples of the form type without final consonant.) However, in Middle English forms of the type I occur only very rarely before a word beginning with a vowel until the 14th cent., and it is likely that both the development and the spread of forms of this type was at least reinforced by assimilatory loss in such contexts as ich shal ‘I shall’. Forms showing a velar become rare after the end of the 14th cent. In Older Scots they are found only in the Advocates' Library manuscript of Barbour's Bruce. (See Forms 1α.) Forms of the type ich survive much later, especially before a word beginning with a vowel. (See Forms 1γ, and also Forms 2bβ for use as a proclitic.) A reduced form ch- in proclitic use is also found (see Forms 2bγ), as are forms of the type cha , che , chee developed from this, showing the development of a vowel before a word beginning with a consonant (see Forms 1ε). By the late 19th cent. the use of any forms with /tʃ/ had chiefly become restricted to a very closely circumscribed area in south Somerset (characterized by A. J. Ellis as ‘the Land of Utch’: On Early Eng. Pronunc. (1889) V. 84–6), in which district it apparently persisted into the 20th cent. before becoming obsolete. (F. T. Elworthy reports in 1897 ( Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 552/1) that it ‘still survives in this locality, though worn down to a mere faint ch’; nonetheless it is recorded there in 1952 (as /ɪtʃ/) in the speech of a farmer in his forties by P. Wright, a fieldworker for the Survey of English Dialects (see M. F. Wakelin Eng. Dial. (1972) 164); and N. Rogers ( Wessex Dial. (1979) 35) claims it could still be heard in the same area in the reduced proclitic form ‘at least until a few years ago’.) However, H. Kingsford, writing c1900, notes the use of what appears to have been a fossilized form of the proclitic in the speech of one individual from Broomhall, south Worcestershire (see quot. 1901 at Forms 2bγ). The status of the forms in -s (see Forms 1δ, with corresponding enclitic at Forms 2aγ) is unclear. They may represent a further development of the forms at Forms 1γ (perhaps compare the early Middle English forms ichs , ics , and the 19th-cent. English regional (Devon) form ish ). However, the three attestations of such forms in Middle English (quots. a1225, c1225, 1340 at Forms 1δ) admit of alternative explanations (respectively scribal error for the former two examples and assimilation of consonants for the latter), and it is possible that there is no continuity with the later south-western regional evidence, which may represent a different word, us pron. (compare forms at that entry) used as subjective singular (compare us pron. 8), although this would be unparalleled in the modern regional varieties. (The possibility of a different origin for these forms was suggested early by R. Wight in an unpublished glossary (see quot. 1777-8 at Forms 1δ) and later (independently) by L. L. Bonaparte ( Trans. Philol. Soc. (1876) 581; compare quot. 1876 at Forms 1δ) and by F. T. Elworthy ( Outline Gram. Dial. W. Somerset (1877) 35; compare quot. 1877² at Forms 2aγ).) The forms at Forms 1β probably originally showed both stressed and unstressed forms, with long and short vowel respectively. The Middle English unstressed form is apparently preserved by the enclitic forms at Forms 2aβ, which survived in English regional (northern) use until at least the end of the 19th cent. (compare comments on pronunciation in quots. 1828, 1892 at Forms 2aβ); these forms probably became obsolete some time in the 20th cent. The modern English regional (north midland and northern) and Scots forms ah, aa, aw, oa, etc. show the development of a new unstressed form from the first element of the diphthong which resulted from the Great Vowel Shift development of the Middle English stressed form with long ī. A. pron. The subjective case of the first person singular pronoun. I. As subject or subject complement. 1. Used by the speaker or writer referring to himself or herself. a. Generally. (a) As the subject of predication or in attributive agreement with the subject. ΚΠ eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 34/2 Conuenio, ic groetu. OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 55 Ic hyne cann, & gif ic secge þæt ic hine ne cunne, ic beo leas. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 I ne can ne I ne mai tellen alle þe wunder. a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 283 A hwat schal i nu don? c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 31 So hadde I spoken with hem euerichoon That I was of hir felaweshipe anon. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Rev. i. 8 I am Alpha and Omega the fyrst and the laste. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lj^v I Charles went nexte to hym. 1609 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 207 And then ibeing soe troubled wente to Master Archdeacon. 1663 S. Pepys Diary 29 Aug. (1971) IV. 290 She and I..bought meat for tomorrow. 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 54 I cou'd not tell Money, not I. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia I. i. iv. 46 I never trust myself in her room but I am sure to be ruined. 1806 in W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Property VI. 56 Know all men by these presents, that I John Griffin make the afore-mentioned my last-will and testament. 1861 C. Thaxter Let. 10 July (1895) 20 Had I not been such a travel-stained Cleopatra, and so tired and hot, I should have had a sparkling and vivacious time. ?1930 J. Thurber Lett. (2002) 125 Instead of thinking back on women I have ‘been with’.., I think forward on women I want to be with. 1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton vi. 121 I en't maunderin, be I? Only had a drop. I en't lush, like. 2006 N. S. Dhaliwal Tourism v. 70 On the top floor was what he and I called ‘the war room’. (b) In predicative agreement with the subject.Now more formal than me pron.¹ 5d. ΚΠ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. l. 160 (MED) Thei seie alle trewely, And swere, that it am noght I. a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 6739 Tho [Generides] wold be a-know, Ful simplie he answerd..‘It am I, hide it wol I noght.’ ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 86 It is I þat am here in ȝour syth. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxviii. 372 Mi dere freyndys, now may ye se Forsoth that is I, That dyed apon the roode-tre And sythen rose bodely. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 722/2 Smell at my coller, and you shall parceyve whether it be I that stynke or nat. 1611 Bible (King James) Mark vi. 50 It is I, be not afraid. View more context for this quotation 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. vii. 63 It was I that instructed my girls to encourage our landlord's addresses. 1883 Harper's Mag. June 35/1 It is I who am a drag on you. It is I who am getting you into danger. 1926 M. Moore Let. 1 May in Sel. Lett. (1997) 226 When you are ready to take back the Editorship, it will be I who am ‘happy’ and justified in being so. 1950 V. Nabokov Let. 24 Mar. (1989) 99 Sirin, the writer I detachedly describe in one passage, is I. 2004 A. Levy Small Island i. 11 I did not dare to dream that it would one day be I who would go to England. b. Premodified by an adjective. Cf. me pron.¹ 7. Now rare. ΚΠ a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Bj Ere you came hyther, poore I was sombody, The Kinge delighted in mee, now I am but a noddy. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 171 Poore I was slaine when Bascianus dide. View more context for this quotation 1611 J. Davies Scourge of Folly 241 But wretched I..None, no not one, a 'Pistle now can frame. 1690 J. Dryden Don Sebastian Epil. 4 Poor I to be a Nun, poor You a Fryar. 1693 J. Dryden Roundelay i Wretched I, to love in vain! 1709 J. Reynolds Death's Vision iii. 4 Alas! What shall poor I become! 1775 S. Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 26 July Here sit poor I, with nothing but my own solitary individuality. 1856 G. H. Boker Leonor de Guzman iii. i, in Plays & Poems I. 282 I—poor I—Must rack my brain for some fresh dancing-jack, To keep him quiet. 1912 E. Martyn Grangecolman ii. 31 To think that poor I should have been of such consequence to a man like you—a man of your attainments! c. Used in giving advice (with should or would): ‘I, if I were you (he or she)’. ΚΠ 1835 T. Arnold Let. 18 May in A. P. Stanley Life & Corr. T. Arnold (1898) I. vii. 360 If possible, I would take a Strabo with me, and an Herodotus. 1846 G. E. Corrie 25 Mar. in M. Holroyd Mem. (1890) xi. 241 I should not be too strict about the ‘artificial flowers’. 1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert iii. 19 I should get her back as soon as you can, otherwise perhaps the painter will marry her! 1939 D. Whipple Priory (2003) xvii. 204 ‘I think I'll get it over at once, seeing your father,’ said Nicholas nervously. ‘I should. Then it won't hang over us,’ advised Christine. 1993 A. L. Kennedy Looking for Possible Dance 96 As Gus lifted the bottle, Susan moved to touch Lawrence's arm. ‘I'd get out of the way, Mr. Lawrence, You don't want burned, do you?’ II. As object of a verb or preposition. 2. a. Used for the objective case after a verb or preposition when separated from the governing word by other words (esp. in coordinate constructions with another pronoun and and).This has been common at various times (esp. towards the end of the 16th and in the 17th cent., and from the mid 20th cent. onwards); it has been considered ungrammatical since the 18th cent. ΚΠ 1582 A. Munday Eng. Romayne Lyfe ii. 20 So after certaine familiar behauiour, vsed betweene him and I, he..went into the Refectorium. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 317 All debts are cleerd betweene you and I. View more context for this quotation 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor v. i. sig. L2^v Musco has beene with my cosen and I all this day. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxii. sig. E4 And hang more praise vpon deceased I. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 16 My Father hath no childe, but I. View more context for this quotation 1649 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 136 To give you and I a right understanding of those particulars. 1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife v. 64 It must all light upon Heartfree and I. 1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife v. 65 Between you and I. 1710 S. Centlivre Bickerstaff's Burying i. ii. 14 Leave your Lady and I alone. 1744 J. Steuart Let.-bk. (1915) 449 The postscript to your letter..gave my wife and I unexpressable joy. 1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days (ed. 3) i. i. 3 Let you and I [(ed. 1) me] cry quits. 1866 Harper's Mag. Jan. 162/2 I have heard him..make a bet that ‘between you and I’ is correct, and refuse to be convinced of his error. 1959 N.Z. Listener 25 Sept. 11/2 I have heard ‘between you and I, old man’, and ‘people like you and I’, from graduates in some arts other than the art of speech. 1972 J. Rossiter Rope for General Dietz ii. 24 I was sure they were looking for Michael and I. 2002 A. Pearson I don't know how she does It (2003) xii. 113 ‘Tyrone Power,’ my grandmother used to murmur fondly when she saw him and I. b. English regional (south-western). Used as an emphatic objective (in contrast with unemphatic me). ΚΠ a1859 Cupid's Garden in T. Hughes Scouring White Horse (1859) vii. 180 Let thee and I go our own waay, And we'll let she go shis'n. 1859 W. Barnes Hwomely Rhymes 20 How you do muddle! Gi'e I the spade. 1863 W. Barnes Gram. & Gloss. Dorset Dial. 23 We should say unemphatically ‘Gi'e me the pick’..but emphatically ‘Gi'e the money to I, not he’. 1877 F. T. Elworthy Outl. Gram. Dial. W. Somerset 35 Occasionally Aay is used in the objective case, but by individuals only, and it is not the rule, as Gie aay dhik, ‘Give I that’. Lat aay ab-m, ‘Let I have it’. 1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 27 Turning a..deaf ear to the solicitations of admiring companions when they cry, ‘Do let I come wi'ye, Bill’. 1907 J. Masefield Campden Wonder i, in Poems & Plays (1918) II. 11 Give I the lantern. 1941 C. Reynolds Glory Hill Farm vii. 69 Those who said ‘Gie I a pint, mum’. 1967 in K. M. Briggs Dict. Brit. Folk-tales (1991) 151 Give I the sack, I'll show thee how to bake parkin. c. Caribbean (originally and chiefly in Rastafarian usage). Used as a general objective pronoun of the first person: me. ΚΠ 1964 H. O. Patterson Children of Sisyphus xx. 192 ‘Oh I see,... You come to study I.’ ‘Well, not just you, all of you, that is, if you don't mind.’ ‘But all of we is only one of I.’ 1978 Observer 4 June 3/3 If dem keep on oppressing I dem way dem is, I have to just fight back. 1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xiv. 290 Today de record release and nobody can stop I now. 2000 G. Philp Uncle Obadiah & Alien in N. Hopkinson Whispers from Cotton Tree Root 204 So why you call I Menelik? B. n.² 1. The pronoun ‘I’ as a word.In quot. 1599 with a play on the letter I (cf. I per se I at I n.¹ 1a). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > I > as a word IOE ego1913 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 9 Þonne cwest ðu: ego hoc feci ic dyde ðis, þonne stent se ic on ðines naman stede. 1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered ii. 8 The Cleerer of Diuinitie, the I per se I, and the belweather of Diuines. 1675 R. Ferguson Interest of Reason in Relig. iii. i. 466 In one line he affirms the Church to be the true Vine, and in the next he tells us, that the I of which True Vine is predicated, signifies Christ together with his Church. 1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 185 It would be the same as to say the soul of the soul, or the body of the body, or the I of me. 1827 J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare Guesses at Truth I. 108 The proudest word in English, to judge by its way of carrying itself, is I. 1874 A. Helps Social Pressure (1875) v. 66 An ‘egotistical fellow’, as you call him..presses forward with his ‘I, I, I’, simply because, perhaps unjustly, you do not recognise that ‘I’ sufficiently. 1883 B. F. Westcott Epist. of St. John 210 The unchanged and unchangeable ‘I’ of the Word. 1910 Mind 19 42 He is only refurbishing Hegel's grotesque proof that the (word) ‘I’ is universal. 2000 A. Lugg Wittgenstein's Investig. 187 If I am puzzled about how the word ‘I’ is used and you tell me that it is used to refer to the speaker, you are not adducing a fact. †2. A self, a person identical with oneself. Chiefly in another I: a second self. Cf. alter ego n. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > second self or kindred spirit another myself1526 alter ego1537 another I1539 self1557 second self1586 alter idema1618 himself1622 twin soul1868 1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. G.v^v My frende is as who shuld say an other I. 1550 J. Harington tr. Cicero Bk. Freendeship sig. Giii^v For he surely is a freend, that is an other I. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 9 At all times an other I, in all places y^e expresse Image of mine owne person. 1614 J. Sylvester tr. J. Bertaut Panaretus 14 in Parl. Vertues Royal That same other I. 1677 T. Good Brief Eng. Tract Logick 36 A Friend is another I. Amicus alter ego. 3. Metaphysics. The subject or object of self-consciousness; that which is conscious of itself, as thinking, feeling, and willing; the ego. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > subjectivity, relation to self > [noun] > system of subjective being > subjective being, self mindc1350 myself1526 selfhood1568 self1641 ipseity1659 subject1682 seity1709 I1710 ego1824 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > I I1710 1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §139 What I am myself—that which I denote by the term I—is the same with what is meant by soul or spiritual substance. 1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iv. i. 193 The Question is, ‘What constitutes the “we” or “I?”’ and, ‘Whether the I of this instant, be the same with that of any instant preceding, or to come’. 1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind i. §3 How do I know that..the I of this moment is the very individual I of yesterday? 1829 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. Dec. 116 A Manifestation of Power from something which is not I. 1870 H. Macmillan Bible Teachings viii. 152 Man is not an independent unit; a self-centred, self-sustaining I. 1874 W. Wallace tr. G. W. F. Hegel Logic §20. 32 ‘I’, in the abstract, as such, is the mere act of concentration or reference to self. 1891 E. B. Bax Outlooks from New Standpoint iii. 199 The I which we think of when we say myself..is not the true I, the I that is thinking, but merely a pseudo-I, a synthesis of thoughts and feelings reflected in this I, which are immediately or intuitively identified with that I. 1986 A. Codrescu Comrade Past & Mister Present 53 The I is neither product nor originator of the Not-I. That is posing the problem falsely. The I is the enemy of the Not-I, its colonizer, conqueror, and exploiter. 1998 K. Eshun More Brilliant than Sun iii. 26 The self no longer amputates itself down to a single part but instead asserts that I is a crowd, that the human is a population of processes. 4. The writer of a literary composition, esp. the narrator of a work of fiction, appearing on his or her own account. Also attributive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > creation or description of characters > character assumed by author persona1732 I1858 1858 F. D. Maurice Let. 27 May in J. F. Maurice Life F. D. Maurice (1884) II. ix. 324 My eagerness that in their writings they should..each present himself as an I. 1912 Harvard Theol. Rev. 5 69 The exegetical question concerning the speaker in the psalms, whether the ‘I’ of the Psalter has an individual or a collective reference. 1940 Eng. Jrnl. 29 528 The ‘I’ of the later novels..has had his edges rubbed smooth by worldly success. 1946 ‘G. Orwell’ in Observer 10 Feb. 3/3 The ‘I’ of the story describes himself as a Democrat. 1962 John o' London's 19 Apr. 372/1 The tendency for novelists to move away from the ‘I’ kind of storytelling. 1965 Eng. Stud. 46 390 The point of view of the ‘I’ narrator is perfectly maintained throughout the tale. 1969 Listener 30 Jan. 151/3 The ‘I’ of David Martin's tense and elusive story. 2000 Contemp. Lit. 41 592 The various tales are presided over by two ‘voices’, an ‘I’ narrator and his female companion. Phrases P1. I AM n. [originally after biblical usage (Exodus 3:14); quot. 1539 translates Hebrew: 'ehyeh 'ăšer 'ehyeh I am that I am; 'ehyeh šĕlāḥnī 'ălēḵem I am hath sent me unto you; quot. a1382 translates the Vulgate, which has post-classical Latin ego sum qui sum I am who I am; qui est, misit me ad vos who is, sent me to you; compare Jehovah n.] (frequently as great I am) (a name for) God as self-existent; also colloquial (in extended use) a person considered important, esp. by himself or herself, a self-important person. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > name of > scriptural name(s) AdonaiOE Sabaotha1325 Lord (God) of Hosts1382 Jehovah1530 I AM1539 Jah1539 the Ancient of Days1560 Elohim1605 Shaddaia1631 seven names of God1657 Yahweh1869 Hashem1877 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is self important bug1536 his nibs1821 panjandrum1825 prima ballerina1923 I AM1926 cheese1965 the mind > emotion > pride > self-importance > [noun] > person bug1536 bladder1579 God almighty1632 cockalorumc1796 his nibs1821 prima donna1834 fly on the (coach-)wheel1840 high muck-a-muck1856 nobs1877 high muckety-muck1882 muckamuck1883 Pooh Bah1886 prima ballerina1923 I AM1926 muckety-muck1927 Pooter1957 cheese1965 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. iii. 14 Þe lord sayde to Moyses, I am þe whiche am he seiþ, þus þou schalt say to þe children of yrael, he þat is: haþ sent me to ȝou.] 1539 Bible (Great) Exod. iii. 14 And god answered Moses: I am that I am: And he sayd: this shalte thou say vnto the chyldren of Israel: I am hath sent me vnto you. 1674 J. Howe Treat. Delighting in God i. 163 This Object of delight is the I am, yesterday and to day the same, and for ever; without variableness and shadow of change. ?1770 T. Olivers Hymn to God of Abraham x. 7 Jehovah—Father—Great I AM! We worship Thee. 1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. xiii. 296 The primary imagination I hold to be the living Power and prime Agent of all human Perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM. 1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes iii. 184 Jim thought himself quite a Great I AM. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover x. 131 I am a cypher. You are the great I-am! as far as life goes. 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 57 Lifting its voice against the Absolute, the ultimate I-Am. 1970 D. Francis Rat Race i. 13 He had none of the ‘I am’ aura which often clings around the notably successful. 1993 Mod. Lang. Rev. 88 953 For him the ‘I’ is a unified self that participates mysteriously in the divine ‘I am’. P2. † I say n. Obsolete a mere assertion. ΚΠ 1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation v. 217 His proofs are allwayes beggarly I sayes, or ifs, and may be soes. P3. I know not what n. the unknown, unintelligible, or inexpressible (cf. je ne sais quoi n.). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [noun] > instance of lock1563 incomprehensibility1651 inscrutables1665 incomprehensible1678 inconceivable1706 I know not what1711 unknowable1725 unsearchable1725 indefinable1810 a sealed book1814 unknowable1816 unintelligible1838 inconceivability1851 imponderable1855 inscrutablenessa1864 unfathomability1867 unthinkable1871 closed book1913 intangible1914 imponderabilia1925 generation gap1962 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [noun] unknown1479 I know not what1711 unbeknown1888 1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks II. v. 414 Whatever is commonly said of the unexpressible, the unintelligible, the I know not what of Beauty. 1830 J. Neal Authorship xx. 217 Take care of that delicate line which divides..the I know-not-what that is lovely, touching, and sincere in what you say about women, from what makes their cheeks tingle and their eyes quail. 1911 tr. G. Hanotaux in Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 19 38 The I know not what of fervor and fire which emanates from him. 1991 F. F. Centore Being & Becoming 217 Emanating from the I-know-not-what via an unknown process, Dasein returns the favor of existence..by bestowing upon Becoming..something that Becoming does not possess in its own right. P4. I will n. an instance of the formula of promise in marriage. ΚΠ 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam Epil. 205 Her sweet ‘I will’ has made ye one. View more context for this quotation 1884 H. Conway in Harper's Mag. Dec. 147/2 Both bride and bridegroom said their ‘I wills’ in..low tones. 1923 K. D. S. Wiggin My Garden of Memory xiv. 142 The hero was a clergyman and..proposed to marry himself to the heroine, using the church service and alternately asking the questions and reading the answers, putting in the ‘I wills’ wherever needed. P5. I and Thou: (in the theology of Martin Buber) describing a relationship between two people, as opposed to that between a person and an object. Cf. I-thou n. [After German Ich und Du (1923 in the title of the work translated in quot. 1937).] ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > between persons, communities, etc. > other specific types working relationship1866 I and Thou1937 1937 R. G. Smith tr. M. Buber (title) I and thou. 1958 D. M. Baillie Out of Nazareth xxii. 157 Divine realities can only be known in a personal ‘I-and-Thou’ relationship. 1968 L. Berg Risinghill 64 Such teachers had never seen their pupils as fellow human beings before, as Martin Buber's ‘I’ and ‘Thou’. 2003 Jrnl. Relig. 83 553 For Buber God is the ‘third’ in the relation of I and Thou. P6. I and I pron. (also I an' I, I&I, I'n'I) (originally and chiefly in Rastafarian usage) used as a uniform personal pronoun (esp. first-person, plural or singular); I, me, my; we, us, our; (also occasionally) you, he, her, etc.Used to emphasize the concept of oneness, important among Rastafarians, who believe that all people are seen as one in the eyes of God or Jah. ΚΠ 1975 B. Marley So Jah Seh (song) in Natty Dread (album) Down here we suffer. But I and I. I hang on in there And I and I. I nah leggo. 1976 Crusader (St. Lucia) 9 Oct. 5 Right now, I an' I greatest problem is that dem don't want I an' I in de Concrete, but when I an' I move up country, dem send police to hunt I an' I down and bring I an' I back to the Concrete. 1985 Guardian (Nexis) 1 Oct. They not like I and I Rasta. They have no love for they fellow men like I and I. 1993 F. D'Aguiar Dread in Brit. Subj. 16 He spoke through that smile at me. 'I an' I don't need anyone to speak for I. 2000 N. Barlay Crumple Zone 221 Cee, you wanna know wha' I an' I tink... Get rid of whatever needs getting' rid of. Compounds ˈI-now n. Metaphysics the subject of present consciousness. ΚΠ 1891 E. B. Bax Outlooks from New Standpoint iii. 200 This distinction is..traceable to that between the I-now, which thinks and presents, and the thing thought considered per se, that which is thought and presented in it... The thinking and presenting I-now may be regarded as the material. 1948 L. O. Kattsoff Philos. Math. xiii. 197 We can almost speak of a dual language, i.e., an I-now-terminology on the one hand and an It-terminology on the other. In the ‘I-now-terminology’ the indicative meaning elements of the words depend on the person who is speaking, while in the ‘it-terminology’ this is not the case. 1999 M. M. Adams Horrendous Evils & Goodness of God iv. 78 An individual's self-love..and concern for his/her own personal history..involves a kind of altruism of the ‘I-now’ towards the other occasions in the bundle. Derivatives ˈI-ety n. = I-hood n. ΚΠ 1835 Mrs. Carlyle in Lett. (1883) I. 18 In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ety. 1952 L. Hanson Marian Evans & George Eliot i. 4 This strong belief in their ‘I-ety’ is common enough in children, but the example given of Marian's demonstration and her age at the time are perhaps not so common. † ˈI-ship n. Obsolete rare = I-hood n. ΚΠ a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1839) IV. 232 Who can comprehend his own..personeity, that is his I-ship (Ichheit). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > see also also refers to : † i-prefix also refers to : -isuffix¹ also refers to : -isuffix² also refers to : -i-connective < n.¹c975pron.n.²eOE see also
随便看	bolshevises bolshevisia bolshevising bolshevism bolshevisms bolshevist bolshevistic bolshevistically bolshevists bolshevization bolshevize bolshevized bolshevizer bolshevizes bolshevizing bolshevy bolshie bolshier bolshies bolshiest bolshiness bolshy bolson bolson-plain bolsonplain

In.1

Initialisms

Draft additions June 2017

Draft additions 1997

Draft additions 1993

Draft additions September 2003

Draft additions December 2005

Draft additions December 2005

Draft additions December 2006

Draft additions September 2008

Draft additions September 2006

Draft additions March 2003

Draft additions March 2003

Draft additions October 2001

Draft additions July 2002

Draft additions January 2005

Draft additions July 2002

Draft additions July 2002

Draft additions December 2005

Draft additions March 2009

Draft additions April 2010

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2016

Draft additions June 2017

Draft additions January 2018

Draft additions January 2018

Ipron.n.2

Phrases

Compounds

Derivatives

> see also

In.¹

Ipron.n.²