I to Ichthulin
I
(I)
1. I, the ninth letter of the English alphabet, takes its form from the Phœnician, through the Latin and the
Greek. The Phœnician letter was probably of Egyptian origin. Its original value was nearly the same as
that of the Italian I, or long e as in mete. Etymologically I is most closely related to e, y, j, g; as
in dint, dent, beverage, L. bibere; E. kin, AS. cynn; E. thin, AS. þynne; E. dominion, donjon, dungeon. In
English I has two principal vowel sounds: the long sound, as in pine, ice; and the short sound, as in
pin. It has also three other sounds: (a) That of e in term, as in thirst. (b) That of e in mete as in machine,
pique, regime. (c) That of consonant y (in many words in which it precedes another vowel), as in bunion,
million, filial, Christian, etc. It enters into several digraphs, as in fail, field, seize, feign. friend; and
with o often forms a proper diphtong, as in oil, join, coin.
See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 98-106.
The dot which we place over the small or lower case i dates only from the 14th century. The sounds of
I and J were originally represented by the same character, and even after the introduction of the form
J into English dictionaries, words containing these letters were, till a comparatively recent time, classed
together.
2. In our old authors, I was often used for ay yes, which is pronounced nearly like it.
3. As a numeral, I stands for 1, II for 2, etc.
I-
(I-) prefix. See Y- .
I
(I) pron. [poss. My (mi) or Mine (min); object. Me pl. nom. We (we); poss. Our (our) or Ours
(ourz); object. Us ] [OE. i, ich, ic, AS. ic; akin to OS. & D. ik, OHG. ih, G. ich, Icel. ek, Dan. jeg,
Sw. jag, Goth. ik, OSlav. az', Russ. ia, W. i, L. ego, Gr. 'egw`, 'egw`n, Skr. aham. &radic179.
Cf. Egoism.] The nominative case of the pronoun of the first person; the word with which a speaker or
writer denotes himself.
Iamatology
(I*am`a*tol"o*gy) n. [Gr. medicine + -logy.] (Med.) Materia Medica; that branch of therapeutics
which treats of remedies.
Iamb
(I"amb) n. [Cf. F. iambe. See Lambus.] An iambus or iambic. [R.]
Iambic
(I*am"bic) a. [L. iambicus, Gr. : cf. F. iambique.]
1. (Pros.) Consisting of a short syllable followed by a long one, or of an unaccented syllable followed
by an accented; as, an iambic foot.
2. Pertaining to, or composed of, iambics; as, an iambic verse; iambic meter. See Lambus.
Iambic
(I*am"bic), n.
1. (Pros.) (a) An iambic foot; an iambus. (b) A verse composed of iambic feet.
The following couplet consists of iambic verses.
Thy gen- | ius calls | thee not | to pur- | chase fame
In keen | iam- | bics, but | mild an- | agram.
Dryden. 2. A satirical poem (such poems having been anciently written in iambic verse); a satire; a lampoon.
Iambical
(I*am"bic*al) a. Iambic. [Obs. or R.]
Iambically
(I*am"bic*al*ly), adv. In a iambic manner; after the manner of iambics.
