Online Etymology Dictionary

I: 12c. shortening of O.E. ic, first person sing. nom. pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ekan (cf. O.Fris. ik, O.N. ek, Norw. eg, Dan. jeg, O.H.G. ih, Ger. ich, Goth. ik), from PIE *ego(m) (cf. Skt. aham, Hitt. uk, L. ego, Gk. ego, Rus. ja). Reduced to i by 1137 in northern England, it began to be capitalized c.1250 to mark it as a distinct word and avoid misreading in handwritten manuscripts.
"The reason for writing I is ... the orthographic habit in the middle ages of using a 'long i' (that is, j or I) whenever the letter was isolated or formed the last letter of a group; the numeral 'one' was written j or I (and three iij, etc.), just as much as the pronoun." [Otto Jespersen, "Growth and Structure of the English Language," p.233]
The form ich or ik, especially before vowels, lingered in northern England until c.1400 and survived in southern dialects until 18c. The dot on the "small" letter -i- began to appear in 11c. L. manuscripts, to distinguish the letter from the stroke of another letter (such as -m- or -n-). Originally a diacritic, it was reduced to a dot with the introduction of Roman type fonts. The basic word for "I" in Japanese is watakushi, but it is not much used. Words that boys usually use are boku (polite) or ore (OH-ray), a rougher word, which can be rude depending on the situation. Girls usually use atashi (a feminine-sounding word) or the neutral watashi, but a tomboy might use boku like boys do.
I've: contraction of I have, 1742, first attested in Richardson's "Pamela."
i.e.: 1598, abbreviation of id est, from L., lit. "that is;" used in Eng. in the sense of "that is to say."
I.H.S.: O.E., from M.L., representing Gk. abbreviation of IHSOUS "Jesus," in which -H- is the capital of the Gk. vowel eta. The Roman form would be I.E.S. Mistaken for a L. contraction in the Middle Ages, after its Gk. origin was forgotten, and sometimes treated as short for Iesus Hominum Salvator "Jesus Savior of Men." Alternative version I.H.C. (terminal -s- often written -c- in later Gk.) is found on vestments from 950 C.E., and may be the source of the H. in slang Jesus H. Christ.
I.O.U.: 1618, with punning reference to "I Owe You."
I.Q.: 1922, abbreviation of intelligence quotient, a 1921 translation of Ger. Intelligenz-quotient, coined 1912 by W.L. Stern.
iambic: 1575, from L. iambicus, from Gk. iambikos, from iambos "metrical foot of one unaccented followed by one accented syllable," from iaptein "to assail" (in words); the meter of invective and lampoon in classical Gk. from the time it was used for such by Archilochos, 7c. B.C.E.
Iberian: c.1600, from L. Iberia, ancient name of the Spanish peninsula, from Gk. Iberes "Celtic people of Spain;" also the name given to an Asiatic people near the Caucasus. Of unknown origin, but the word as applied in Spain is believed to be related to the River Ebro. The earliest English reference is to the Caucasians; in ref. to Spain and Portugal it dates from 1610s.
ibex: 1607, from L. ibex "wild goat of the Alps and Apennines," from a pre-L. Alpine language. The Ger. steinbock.
ibid.: 1663, abbreviation of L. ibidem "in the same place," from ibi "there" + demonstrative suffix -dem.
ibis: 1382, from Gk. ibis, from Egyptian hab, a sacred bird of Egypt.
ibogaine: nerve stimulant, 1902, from Fr. ibogaine, from iboga, Congolese name of the shrub from which the chemical is extracted.
ICBM: 1955, acronym for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile.
ice: O.E. is "ice," from P.Gmc. *isa- (cf. O.N. iss, O.Fris. is, Du. ijs, Ger. Eis), with no certain cognates beyond Gmc. Slang meaning "diamonds" is attested from 1906. Ice cream is first recorded 1688 (as iced cream); icing in the sugary sense is from 1769; ice cube first recorded 1929. To break the ice "to make the first opening to any attempt" is from 1590, metaphoric of making passages for boats by breaking up river ice though in modern use usually with implications of "cold reserve."
iceberg: 1774, partial loan-transl. of Du. ijsberg, lit. "ice mountain," from ijs "ice" + berg "mountain." An earlier term was sea-hill (1694). Phrase tip of the iceberg, in a figurative sense, first recorded 1963.
ichneumon: 1572, originally a weasel-like animal in Egypt, from Gk. ichneumon, lit. "searcher," perhaps because it hunts crocodile eggs, from ichneuein "hunt for, track," from ichnos "a track," of unknown origin. Used by Aristotle for a species of wasp that hunts spiders.
ichor: 1638, from Gk., of unknown origin, possibly from a non-I.E. language. The fluid that serves for blood in the veins of the gods.
Ichthyosaur: 1830, coined from Gk. ichthys "fish" + sauros "lizard."
icicle: M.E. isykle, from is "ice" + ikel "icicle," from O.E. gicel (rel. to cylegicel "cold ice"), from P.Gmc. *jekilaz (cf. O.N. jaki "piece of ice," dim. jökull "icicle, ice, glacier"). Dialectical ickle "icicle" survived into 20c.
Icknield Way: prehistoric trackway from Norfolk to Dorset, O.E. Icenhylte (903), of unknown meaning and origin. Name transferred 12c. to the Roman road from Burton on the Water to Templeborough.
icky: 1935, Amer.Eng., probably from icky-boo (c.1920) "sickly, nauseated," probably baby talk elaboration of sick. Originally a swing lover's term for more sentimental jazz music.
icon: 1570s, "image, figure, representation," from L.L. icon, from Gk. eikon "likeness, image, portrait," related to eikenai "be like, look like." Eastern Church sense is attested from 1833. Computing sense first recorded 1982.
iconoclast: "breaker or destroyer of images," 1596, from Fr. iconoclaste, from M.L. iconoclastes, from Late Gk. eikonoklastes, from eikon (gen. eikonos) "image" + klastes "breaker," from klas- pt. stem of klan "to break." Originally those in the Eastern Church in 8c. and 9c. whose mobs of followers destroyed icons and other religious objects on the grounds that they were idols. Applied to 16c.-17c. Protestants in Netherlands who vandalized former Catholic churches on similar grounds. Extended sense of "one who attacks orthodox beliefs or institutions" is first attested 1842. Iconoclasm in this sense is from 1858.
id: 1924, in Joan Riviere's translation of Freud's "Das Ich und das Es," from L. id "it" (translation of Ger. es "it" in Freud's title), used in psychoanalytical theory to denote the unconscious instinctual force.
Idaho: c.1860, as a place name, originally applied to part of what is now eastern Colorado (Idaho Territory org. 1863); from Kiowa-Apache (Athabaskan) idaahe "enemy," a name applied by them to the Comanches.
idea: 1430, "figure, image, symbol," from L. idea "idea," and in Platonic philosophy "archetype," from Gk. idea "ideal prototype," lit. "look, form," from idein "to see," from PIE *wid-es-ya-, suffixed form of base *weid- "to see" (see vision). Sense of "result of thinking" first recorded 1645.
"Men of one idea, like a hen with one chicken, and that a duckling." [Thoreau, "Walden"]
ideal: 1410, from L.L. idealis "existing in idea," from L. idea in the Platonic sense (see idea). Sense of "perfect" first recorded 1613. The noun meaning "perfect person or thing" is first recorded 1796 in a translation of Kant. The abstract idealism, also from 1796, originally meant "belief that reality is made up only of ideas." Idealist "one who represents things in an ideal form" is from 1829, as is idealistic. Ideally "in the best conceivable situation" is from 1840. Idée fixe (1836) is from Fr., lit. "fixed idea."
identical: 1620, as a term in logic, from M.L. identicus "the same," from L.L. identitas "identity," ult. from L. idem "the same" (from id "it, that one") + demonstrative suffix -dem. Replaced M.E. idemptical, from M.L. idemptitas, from L. idem.
identify: 1644, "regard as the same," from Fr. identifier, from identité (see identity). Sense of "recognize" first recorded 1769. I.D. (pronounced as separate letters), short for identification, is attested from 1955.
identity: 1570, from M.Fr. identité (14c.), from L.L. (5c.) identitatem (nom. identitas) "sameness," from ident-, comb. form of L. idem (neut.) "the same" (see identical); abstracted from identidem "over and over," from phrase idem et idem. Term identity crisis first recorded 1954.
ideology: 1796, "science of ideas," originally "philosophy of the mind which derives knowledge from the senses" (as opposed to metaphysics), from Fr. idéologie "study or science of ideas," coined by Fr. philosopher Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836) from idéo- "of ideas," from Gk. idea (see idea) + -logy. Meaning "systematic set of ideas, doctrines" first recorded 1909. Ideologue first recorded 1815, in ref. to the Fr. Revolutionaries.
"Ideology ... is usually taken to mean, a prescriptive doctrine that is not supported by rational argument." [D.D. Raphael, "Problems of Political Philosophy," 1970]
ides: (pl.) early 14c., "middle day of a Roman month," from Fr. Ides (12c.), from L. idus, a word perhaps of Etruscan origin. The 15th of March, May, July, and October; the 13th of other months.
idiom: 1588, "form of speech peculiar to a people or place," from M.Fr. idiome, from L.L. idioma "a peculiarity in language," from Gk. idioma "peculiarity, peculiar phraseology," from idioumai "I make my own," from idios "personal, private," prop. “particular to oneself,” from PIE *swed-yo-, suffixed form of base *s(w)e-, pronoun of the third person and reflexive (referring back to the subject of a sentence), also used in forms denoting the speaker's social group, "(we our-)selves" (cf. Skt. svah, Avestan hva-, O.Pers. huva "one's own," khva-data "lord," lit. "created from oneself;" Gk. hos "he, she, it;" L. suescere "to accustom, get accustomed," sodalis "companion;" O.C.S. svoji "his, her, its," svojaku "relative, kinsman;" Goth. swes "one's own;" O.N. sik "oneself;" Ger. Sein; O.Ir. fein "self, himself"). Idiomatic is first attested 1712.
idiosyncrasy: c.1600, from Fr. idiosyncrasie, from Gk. idiosynkrasia "a peculiar temperament," from idios "one's own" (see idiom) + synkrasis "temperament, mixture of personal characteristics," from syn "together" + krasis "mixture." Originally in English a medical term meaning "physical constitution of an individual." Mental sense first attested 1660s.
idiosyncratic: 1779, from idiosyncrasy. Idiosyncratically is recorded from 1640s.
idiot: c.1300, "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning," from O.Fr. idiote "uneducated or ignorant person," from L. idiota "ordinary person, layman," in L.L. "uneducated or ignorant person," from Gk. idiotes "layman, person lacking professional skill," lit. "private person," used patronizingly for "ignorant person," from idios "one's own" (see idiom).
"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." [Mark Twain, c.1882]
Idiot box "television set" is from 1959; idiot light "dashboard warning signal" is attested from 1968. Idiocy (1487) is perhaps modeled on prophet/prophecy.
idle: O.E. idel "empty, void, useless," common W.Gmc. (cf. O.S. idal, O.Fris. idel "empty, worthless," O.Du. idil, Ger. eitel "vain, useless, mere, pure"), of unknown origin. Idle threats preserves original sense; meaning "lazy" is c.1300. The verb sense of "running slowly and steadily without transmitting power" (as a motor) first recorded 1916.
idol: mid-13c., "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from O.Fr. idole, from L.L. idolum "image (mental or physical), form," used in Church L. for "false god," from Gk. eidolon "appearance," later "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue," from eidos "form" (see -oid). Figurative sense of "something idolized" is first recorded 1560s. Meaning "a person so adored" is from 1590s; hence idolize (1590s).
idolatry: mid-13c., from O.Fr. idolatrie, shortened from L.L. idololatria (Tertullian), from Gk. eidololatria "worship of idols," from eidolon "image" + latreia "worship, service."
idyll: c.1600, from L. idyllium, from Gk. eidyllion "short, descriptive poem of rustic or pastoral type," lit. "a little picture," dim. of eidos "form" (see -oid).
idyllic: 1856, Amer.Eng., "full of natural, simple charm," lit. "suitable for an idyll;" from idyll.
if: O.E. gif (initial g- in O.E. pronounced with a sound close to Mod.Eng. -y-), from P.Gmc. *ja-ba (cf. O.N. ef, O.Fris. gef, O.H.G. ibu, Ger. ob, Du. of), probably originally from an oblique case of a noun meaning "doubt" (cf. O.H.G. iba, O.N. if "doubt"). Iffy is first attested 1937 in Amer.Eng.; originally associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
igloo: 1824, Canadian Eng., from an Eskimo word for "house, dwelling" (cf. Greenlandic igdlo "house").
igneous: 1664, from L. igneus "of fire, fiery," from ignis "fire," from PIE *egni- (cf. Skt. agnih "fire, sacrificial fire," O.C.S. ogni, Lith. ugnis "fire").
ignis fatuus: "will o' the wisp, jack-a-lantern," 1563, from M.L., lit. "foolish fire." It seems once to have been more common than presently.
ignite: 1646 (implied in ignitable), from L. ignitus, pp. of ignire "set fire." Attested earlier as an adj. (1560). Ignition is from 1612, "act of heating to the point of combustion;" meaning "means of sparking an internal combustion engine" is from 1881.
ignoble: 1447, from M.Fr. ignoble, from L. ignobilis "unknown, undistinguished, not noble," from in- "not" + nobilis "noble," infl. by Old L. gnobilis "known, famous, renowned, noble."
ignominious: 1520s, from M.Fr. ignominieux (14c.), from L. ignominiosus "disgraceful, shameful," from ignominia "loss of a (good) name," from in- "not" + nomen (gen. nominis) "name." Influenced by Old L. gnoscere "come to know."
ignominy: 1530s, from Fr. ignominie (15c.), from L. ignominia "disgrace, dishonor" (see ignominious).
ignoramus: 1577, Anglo-Fr. legal term, from L. ignoramus "we do not know," first person present indicative of ignorare "not to know" (see ignorant). The legal term was one a grand jury could write on a bill when it considered the prosecution's evidence insufficient. Sense of "ignorant person" came from the title role of George Ruggle's 1615 play satirizing the ignorance of common lawyers.