ice baby

• ice
• baby
• vitrification
• ice twins
• ice twin
• ice
• twin
• twins

A baby conceived from a human egg which has been frozen for a period of time.
Example:
Egg freezing breakthrough will create generation of 'ice babies'. (The Telegraph, 9th October 2005) History, related words:
Though the expression "ice baby" might conjure up images of the American rapper Vanilla Ice perfoming his best-known single 'Ice Ice Baby', it has developed a significant and rather more serious meaning in the 21st century. "Ice baby" is the term now given to a baby born from a frozen human egg. The number of ice babies arriving in the next few years seems set to significantly increase with the development of a new procedure which overcomes the difficulties previously associated with egg freezing. Existing methods have run a major risk of damaging the eggs during the freezing process, but a new technique called vitrification, involving the use of a substance which acts as a kind of 'anti-freeze', reduces the potential for damage and thereby substantially increases the rate of successful pregnancies resulting from fertilisation of frozen eggs. Egg freezing started out as a process intended to assist women with fertility problems, particularly cancer patients wanting to protect their fertility prior to undergoing radiotherapy or chemo-therapy. However more recent advances have made the ice baby an increasingly controversial concept. Significantly improved success rates mean that there is now the potential for women to choose conception dates which fit in with their career plans. Women in their 20s and 30s could store their eggs for future use, putting their fertility, quite literally, 'on ice', and delaying motherhood until as late as their 50s. The universal potential of egg freezing is massive, described by some as on a par with the introduction of the contraceptive pill. It is predicted that within as little as a year we will see the first ice baby born as a matter of lifestyle choice rather than medical necessity. The term "ice baby" has appeared in the context of fertility treatment since the mid-nineties. On the model of the term test-tube baby, which first appeared in the seventies, "ice baby" is used to refer to babies born as a result of medical intervention which incorporates some kind of freezing process, whether of embryos, eggs or sperm. In 2002, a Manchester couple were the beneficiaries of what was believed to be a world record in fertility treatment, when an ice baby was born 21 years after his father's sperm was frozen prior to cancer treatment as a teenager. In the same year, Britain's first ice baby from a frozen egg was born, Emily Perry, conceived after her mother received treatment at the Midland Fertility Services clinic near Birmingham. With recent medical advances and the potential for egg freezing to be perceived as the ultimate kind of family planning, the term "ice baby" seems likely to enter mainstream use. We might also expect to see an increasing number of references to ice twins - twin ice babies.

icky

• gross

Displeasing, disgusting, unappealing.
Example:
Your kitchen is so icky! Why don't you bother to clean it up?
Etymology:
The word may be dervied from 'sticky', which describes something that attaches itself to you in an unwanted and unpleasant way. Synonym: gross


ideate
[EYE-dee-ayt]
to form an idea or conception of smth.
Example:
"Drawing on typically far-ranging and hands-on experience, designers are prolific in ideating". (Mike Tennity, "Design Management Journal", Summer 2003)
Etymology:
Like "idea" and "ideal", "ideate" comes from the Greek verb "idein", which means "to see". The sight-thought connection came courtesy of Plato, the Greek philosopher who based his theory of the ideal on the concept of seeing, claiming that a true philosopher can see the essential nature of things and can recognize their ideal form or state. Early uses of "idea", "ideal", and "ideate" in English were associated with Platonic philosophy; "idea" meant "an archetype" or "a standard of perfection," "ideal" meant "existing as an archetype," and "ideate" referred to forming Platonic ideas. But though "ideate" is tied to ancient philosophy, the word itself is a modern concoction, relatively speaking. It first appeared in English only about 400 years ago.


idiot box

• idiot
• box
• boob tube
• boob
• tube

A television.
Example:
I wasted my whole night in front of the idiot box.
Etymology:
An 'idiot' is a stupid person, and most televisions look like square 'boxes' (containers). This phrase suggests that if you spend too much time looking at the 'box' (television), you'll become an 'idiot'. Synonym: boob tube


idyll

• idyllic

[EYE-dl]
1. A simple descriptive work, either in poetry or prose, dealing with simple, rustic life; pastoral scenes; and the like.
2. A narrative poem treating an epic, romantic, or tragic theme.
3. A lighthearted carefree episode or experience.
4. A romantic interlude.
Examples:
1) Sheep are not the docile, pleasant creatures of the pastoral idyll. Any countryman will tell you that. They are sly, occasionally vicious, pathologically stupid. (Joanne Harris, "Chocolat")
2) From too much looking back, he was destroyed,... trying to re-create an idyll that never truly existed except in his own imagination. (Gore Vidal, "The Essential Gore Vidal")
3) She kept a diary that poignantly captured the sense of youthful gaiety shattered by events suddenly intruding on their teenage idyll. (James T. Fisher, "Dr. America")
4) The Guevaras' honeymoon idyll, such as it was, did not last long. (Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life")
Etymology:
"Idyll" ultimately derives from Greek "eidullion" ("a short descriptive poem (usually on pastoral subjects); an idyll"); from "eidos" ("that which is seen; form; shape; figure"). The adjective form is idyllic.


if the shoe fits, wear it

• shoe fits
• shoe
• fit
• wear
• fits

If the remark applies to you, you should admit that it is true; if what is being said in general describes you then it probably means you.
Examples:
1) He was complaining that most of the workers at his company were lazy. However his friend looked at him and said that if the shoe fits, wear it.
2) Some students never clean up after art class. I'm not mentioning names, but if the shoe fits, wear it.
History:
This proverb comes from an older expression popular in the 1700s, "If the cap fits, put it on." The "cap" referred to was a dunce cap. As the years went by, the "cap" in the saying changed to "slipper", perhaps because of the popularity of the story of Cinderella. A playwright in the early 1900s wrote, "If the slipper fits, wear it." Later "slipper" changed to "shoe." The idea is clear: accept a comment that refers to you as you would wear a shoe that fits your foot.


if wishes were horses

• beggars would ride
• if
• wishes
• wish
• were
• be
• horses
• horse
• beggars
• beggar
• would
• ride

This proverb comes from past times, when horses were a primary means of transportation and many people were too poor to own them. It means that if wishes were easy achieve, then everyone would have everything they want.
Example:
"I wish I had a million dollars," said Cal.
"Sure," said Alicia, "and if wishes were horses, beggars would ride."

ignoble
[ig-NOH-bul]
1. Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious; plebeian; common; humble.
2. Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness.
Examples:
1) Heroes are only human. Their noble deeds inspire, as they should. Their ignoble deeds make clear that even the greatest human is no god. (Don Wyclif, "Dr. King's Moral Debit," New York Times, November 14, 1989)
2) Although she returns to Ireland, Billy counts on her coming back to marry him, and when Dennis tells him she has died from pneumonia, he's shattered for life, drowning his romantic sorrow in alcohol and sliding passively toward a drunk's ignoble death. (Celia McGee, "'Billy' captivates with quiet strength," USA Today, December 2, 1999)
Etymology:
"Ignoble" derives from Latin "ignobilis", from "in-" ("not") + "nobilis" (Old Latin "gnobilis" - "noble").


ignoramus

• ignoramuses
• blockhead
• boob
• dimwit
• dodo
• lunkhead
• meathead
• nitwit

[ig-nuh-RAY-mus]
An ignorant person; a dunce.
Example:
1) My "perfect" reader is not a scholar but neither is he an ignoramus; he does not read because he has to, nor as a pastime, nor to make a splash in society, but because he is curious about many things, wishes to choose among them and does not wish to delegate this choice to anyone; he knows the limits of his competence and education, and directs his choices accordingly. (Primo Levi, "This Above All: Be Clear", New York Times, November 20, 1988)
2) I am quite an ignoramus, I know nothing in the world. (Charlotte Bronte, "Villette")
Etymology:
"Ignoramus" was the name of a character in George Ruggle's 1615 play of the same name. The name was derived from the Latin, literally, "we are ignorant", from "ignorare" ("not to know"), from "ignarus" ("not knowing"), from "ig-" (for in-, "not") + "gnarus" ("knowing, acquainted with, expert in"). It is related to ignorant and ignore. The correct plural form is "ignoramuses". Since "ignoramus" in Latin is a verb, not a noun, there is no justification for a plural form ending in "-i".
Synonyms:
blockhead, boob, dimwit, dodo, lunkhead, meathead, nitwit.

ignorance is bliss

• ignorance
• bliss

It is better not to know bad news sometimes, especially if you're happy; ignorant people have nothing to worry about.
Examples:
1) The teacher said, "Ignorance is bliss - until you write exams".
2) The bad news can wait until tomorrow. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
History, more examples:
Many writers over the centuries have expressed this idea. The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote it around 400 B.C. Nineteen hundred years later Erasmus, a Dutch scholar, quoted it. Then Thomas Gray, the British poet of the 1700s, used it in one of his poems. He wrote: "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." It has been a popular saying ever since.


ilk
[ILK]
Sort, kind.
Example:
Mr. Reynolds ran a tight, efficient business with hard-working employees, and so he had no patience for slackers like Charlie and his ilk.
History, related words, more examples:
The Old English pronoun "ilca," the predecessor of "ilk," was synonymous with "same." "Ilk" persisted in that use in Scots, where it was used in the phrase "of that ilk," meaning "of the same place, territorial designation, or name." It was used chiefly in reference to the names of land-owning families and their eponymous estates, as in "the Guthries of that ilk," which meant "the Guthries of Guthrie." But a misunderstanding arose concerning the Scots phrase - it was apparently interpreted as meaning "of that kind or sort," a usage that soon found its way into modern English. "Ilk" has been established in English with its current meaning and part of speech since the late 18th century.

imbibition

• absorption

[im-buh-BIH-shun]
1. The act or action of drinking
Example:
The sign at the entrance to the building stated that the imbibition of alcoholic beverages on the premises was prohibited.
2. The act or action of taking in or up
Synonym: absorption
Etymology:
All senses of "imbibition" are based on Latin "imbibere", a verb whose meaning "to drink in" includes absorption of liquids, consuming drink, and appropriating ideas. Joseph Thomas James Hewlett was a 19th-century English curate and schoolmaster who supplemented his insufficient income by writing novels. In "Parsons and Widows", in which the author disguises himself as "the Curate of Mosbury", Hewlett provided us with the first known use of "imbibition" to refer to a person's drinking, in the phrase "imbibition of a little strong beer". Until then, "imbibition" had been used scientifically to refer to various processes of soaking and absorption, or figuratively, to the taking in of knowledge. (The word is still used scientifically today to refer to the taking up of fluid.)


imbricate

• ombriphilous

[IM-bruh-kayt]
To overlap; especially: to overlap like roof tiles.
Example:
Fine-spun and see-through, the cotton... acts as canvas and writing paper, pierced and covered by the imbricated stitches that decorate it. (Frances Richard, "Artforum International", January 1, 2005)
History, related words:
The ancient Romans knew how to keep the interior of their villas dry when it rained. They tiled their roofs with overlapping curved tiles so the "imber" (Latin for "rain") couldn't seep in. The tiles were, in effect, "rain tiles," so the Romans called them "imbrices" (singular "imbrex"). The verb for installing the tiles was "imbricare." The "imbr-" root has never really been put to use in English rain-related words (though scientists have made use of the closely-related Greek "ombros"; for example, "ombriphilous" describes a plant that loves heavy rainfall). English speakers used the past participle of "imbricare" - "imbricatus" - to create "imbricate," which was first used as adjective meaning "overlapping (like roof tiles)" and later became a verb meaning "to overlap."


imbroglio
[im-BROHL-yoh] 1. A complicated and embarrassing state of things. 2. A confused or complicated disagreement or misunderstanding. 3. An intricate, complicated plot, as of a drama or work of fiction. 4. A confused mass; a tangle.
Examples:
1) The political imbroglio also appears to endanger the latest International Monetary Fund loan package for Russia, which is considered critical to avoid a default this year on the country's $17 billion in foreign debt. (David Hoffman, "Citing Economy, Yeltsin Fires Premier", Washington Post, May 13, 1999)
2) Worse still, hearings and investigations into scandals -- from the imbroglio over Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination in 1991 to the charges of perjury against President Clinton in 1998 - have overshadowed any consideration of the country's future. (John B. Judis, "The Paradox of American Democracy")
3) To the extent that Washington had a policy toward the subcontinent, its aim was to be evenhanded and not get drawn into the diplomatic imbroglio over Kashmir. (George Perkovich, "India's Nuclear Bomb")
4) The imbroglio over the seemingly arcane currency issue threatens to plunge Indonesia - and possibly its neighbors as well - into a renewed bout of financial turmoil. (Paul Blustein, "Currency Dispute Threatens Indonesia's Bailout", Washington Post, February 14, 1998)
Etymology:
"Imbroglio" derives from Italian, from Old Italian "imbrogliare" ("to tangle, to confuse"), from "in-" ("in") + "brogliare" ("to mix, to stir"). It is related to "embroil" ("to entangle in conflict or argument").


imbue

• infuse
• imbrue

[im-BYOO]
1. To permeate or influence as if by dyeing; to infuse
2. To instill profoundly; to cause to become impressed or penetrated.
3. To tinge or dye deeply; to cause to absorb thoroughly; as, "clothes thoroughly imbued with black."
4. To provide with something freely or naturally; to endow.
Examples:
1) The coach hoped that his pep talk would imbue the team with a sense of confidence before the final game.
2) Beauty is equal parts flesh and imagination: we imbue it with our dreams, saturate it with our longings. (Nancy Etcoff, "Survival of the Prettiest")
3) Along with the rest of us he would certainly applaud attempts to imbue the young with the spirit of fair play. (John Bryant, "Football should heed the Corinthian spirit," Times (London), February 17, 2000)
4) He wanted to remake American cinema into a positive force for good, to imbue it with a transcendent sense of virtue and order. (Thomas Doherty, "Pre-Code Hollywood")
Etymology, related words, more examples:
First appearing in English in the mid-1500s, "imbue" derives from the Latin verb "imbuere," meaning "to dye, to wet, to steep, to saturate or moisten." Like its synonym "infuse," "imbue" implies the introduction of one thing into another so as to affect it throughout. A nation can be imbued with pride, for example, or a photograph might be imbued with a sense of melancholy. In the past "imbue" has also been used synonymously with "imbrue," an obscure word meaning "to drench or stain," but etymologists do not think the two words are related. "Imbrue" has been traced back through Anglo-French and Old French to the Latin verb "bibere," meaning "to drink."


immaculate

• maculate
• spottily

[ih-MAK-yuh-lut]
1. Having no stain or blemish; pure.
2. Containing no flaw or error.
3. Spotlessly clean; having no colored spots or marks.
Example:
The Rileys expected to find that their teenagers had wreaked havoc in the house while they were gone, but they found the place immaculate and tidy.
History, antonym, synonym, more examples:
The opposite of "immaculate" is "maculate," which means "marked with spots" or "impure." The Latin word "maculatus," the past participle of a verb meaning "to stain," is the source of both words and can be traced back to "macula," a word that scientists still use for spots on the skin, the wings of insects, and the surface of celestial objects. "Maculate" has not marked as many pages as "immaculate," but it has appeared occasionally (one might say "spottily"), especially as an antithesis to "immaculate." For example, in "The New Republic", May 25, 1998, Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" is described as being "about the struggle of a mistreated man as he rises to the top, along with a mortal conflict between this maculate virtuous man and an immaculate pursuing demon."


immolate
[IM-uh-layt]
1. To sacrifice; to offer in sacrifice; to kill as a sacrificial victim.
2. To kill or destroy, often by fire.
Examples:
1) What have I gained, that I no longer immolate a bull to Jove, or to Neptune, or a mouse to Hecate... if I quake at opinion, the public opinion, as we call it; or at the threat of assault, or contumely, or bad neighbors, or poverty, or mutilation, or at the rumor of revolution, or of murder? (Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Essays and English traits")
2) In the city of Bhopal, police used water canon to thwart a group of Congress workers who were on the point of immolating themselves. (Peter Popham, "Gandhi critics are expelled by party," Independent, May 21, 1999)
3) Bowls of honey at the room's center drew random insects to immolate themselves against a nearby bug zapper. (Carol Kino, "Damien Hirst at Gagosian," Art in America, May 2001)
Etymology:
"Immolate" comes from the past participle of Latin "immolare" ("to sacrifice; originally, to sprinkle a victim with sacrificial meal"), from "in-" + "mola" ("grits or grains of spelt coarsely ground and mixed with salt").


immure

• shut in
• confine
• shut
• cloister
• imprison
• incarcerate

1. To build into a wall; especially: to entomb in a wall.
2. To enclose within or as if within walls; hence, to shut up; to imprison; to incarcerate.
Examples:
1) The prince in the fairy tale visits Rapunzel, who is immured in a tower with no doors or stairs, by climbing up her long braids of hair.
2) Not surprisingly, Sally shuddered at the thought of being immured in the black cave, to die slowly and hopelessly, far below the sunny hillside. (Peter Pierce, "The Fiction of Gabrielle Lord," Australian Literary Studies, October 1999)
3) True, there was a Mughal emperor in Delhi until 1857, but he was emperor in name only, the shadow of a memory, described by Lord Macaulay as 'a mock sovereign immured in a gorgeous state prison'. (Anthony Read, "The Proudest Day")
4) When I tried to think clearly about this, I felt that my mind was immured, that it couldn't expand in any direction. (Andrew Solomon, "The Noonday Demon")
5) Immured by privilege in a way of life that offered little scope, army wives were often enfeebled by boredom. (Frances Spalding, "Duncan Grant: A Biography")
Synonyms: shut in; confine; cloister; imprison; incarcerate.
Etymology, more meanings and examples:
Like "mural", "immure" comes from "murus", a Latin noun that means "wall". "Immurare", a Medieval Latin verb, was formed from "murus" ("wall") and the prefix "in-, im-" (meaning "in" or "within"). It is related to mural, a painting applied to a wall. "Immure", which first appeared in English in the late 16th century, literally means "to wall in" or "to enclose with a wall", but it has extended meanings as well. In addition to senses meaning "imprison" and "entomb", the word sometimes has broader applications, essentially meaning "to shut in" or "to confine". One might remark, for example, that a very studious acquaintance spends most of her time "immured in the library" or that a withdrawn teenager "immures himself in his bedroom every night".


imperturbable

• serene
• unflappable
• calm
• cool
• composed
• perturb
• perturbable

[im-per-TER-buh-bul]
marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness
Synonyms: serene, unflappable, calm, composed, cool
Example:
As an emergency medical technician, Carol was expected to remain imperturbable even under the most chaotic and demanding of circumstances.
History, related words:
From Latin "imperturbabilis" - "that cannot be disturbed" (Augustine), from "in-" ("not") + "perturbabilis".
There is an interesting time lag between the appearance of "imperturbable" and its antonym, "perturbable." Although "imperturbable" is known to have existed since the middle of the 15th century, "perturbable" didn't show up in written English until 1800. The verb "perturb" (meaning "to disquiet" or "to throw into confusion") predates both "imperturbable" and "perturbable"; it has been part of English since the 14th century. All three words derive from the Latin "perturbare," also meaning "to throw into confusion," which in turn comes from the combination of "per-" and "turbare," which means "to disturb." Other relatives of "imperturbable" include "disturb" and "turbid."


impervious

• pervious

[im-PUR-vee-uhs, im-PER-vee-us]
1. Not admitting of entrance or passage through; impenetrable.
2. Not capable of being harmed or damaged.
3. Not capable of being affected or disturbed.
Examples:
1) Shipboard Internet communications will not be ubiquitous for several years, in part because it is expensive and complicated to rewire ships, and in part because the companies want systems that are impervious to such potential Internet problems as hackers, software viruses and pornography. (Peter H. Lewis, "From: Noah@Ark. Subject: Rain." New York Times, October 3, 1999)
2) The building is tremorproof, fireproof and impervious to even the most powerful tornado. (Michael D'Antonio, "Bunker Mentality," New York Times Magazine, March 26, 2000)
3) He was wearing a red ronko, a "war vest," which, he said, made him impervious to bullets. (Jeffrey Goldberg, "A Continent's Chaos," New York Times Magazine, May 21, 2000)
4) As it turns out, digital signals are so robust and impervious to interference that the station has picked up a viewable signal 65 miles away from the tower. (Joel Brinkley, "TV Goes Digital: Warts and Wrinkles Can't Hide," New York Times, March 3, 1997)
5) The church's thick stone walls seemed to be impervious to noise... ("Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", August 26, 2001)
Etymology, related words:
The English language is far from impervious, and, of course, a great many Latinate terms have entered it throughout its history. "Impervious" is one of the many that broke through in the 17th century. It comes from Latin "impervius", from "in-/im-" ("not") + "pervius" ("with a way through", hence "penetrable"), from "per-" ("through") + "via" ("way"). "Pervius" is also the source of the relatively uncommon English word "pervious," meaning "accessible" or "permeable".


implacable
[im-PLAK-uh-bull] Not placable; not to be appeased; incapable of being pacified; inexorable; as, an implacable foe.
Examples:
1) For it is my office to prosecute the guilty with implacable zeal. (Paola Capriolo, "Floria Tosca", translated by Liz Heron)
2) He... then continued on up the road, his shoulders bent beneath the implacable sun. (Arturo Pérez-Reverte, "The Fencing Master")
3) She conducted her life and her work with all the steady and implacable seriousness of a steamroller. ("The Stein Salon Was The First Museum of Modern Art", New York Times, December 1, 1968)
Etymology:
"Implacable" ultimately comes from Latin "implacabilis", from "in-" ("not") + "placabilis" ("placable"), from "placo, placare" ("to soothe, calm, appease").



impolitic

• unwise
• inexpedient

[im-PAH-luh-tik]
Not politic; contrary to or lacking in policy.
Synonyms: unwise, inexpedient.
Example:
It was highly impolitic of Mayor Washburn to recommend a mayoral pay increase shortly before he ran for reelection.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Impolitic" appeared over 400 years ago as an antonym of "politic," a word that basically means "shrewd," "sagacious," or "tactful." "Politic" came to us via Middle French from Latin "politicus." The Latin word, in turn, came from a Greek word based on "polites," meaning "citizen." "Impolitic" has often been used to refer to action or policy on the part of public figures that is considered politically unwise - from British statesman Edmund Burke's judicious "the most ... impolitick of all things, unequal taxation" (1797) to a recent description (in "U.S. News & World Report", June 20, 2005) of DNC Chairman Howard Dean's "impolitic dissing of the other side."


importunate
[im-POR-chuh-nit]
Troublesomely urgent; overly p