Dictionary "I"

ICHOR (from) Greek mythology. The blood of the gods has come to be the ick that oozes from wounds or ulcers. I would have called it yuck or icky poo or something. Needless to say, the soul of some well-meaning Greek physician will pound eternally on the gates of Olympus to be let in.

ICHTHYIC (from) Greek ikhthus, fish. Said for the slime on fish. For example, "When picking up fish, it is difficult not to ick the ick."

IDEA (from) Latin, from Greek, form, notion, model, class, from IndoEuropean weid-, to see. If you have a dollar and I have a dollar and we swap, we still each have a dollar. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we swap, then we each have two ideas. The value of exchanging ideas is that we double what we have without having to give anything away.

"Greater than the tread of mighty armies is the sound of an idea whose time has come." -- Victor Hugo

IGNORANCE (from) to ignore. A choice to not even try to understand.

"Those who are most likely to be offended by this dictionary are those who should choose to ignore it." -- Roger Henry

ILLITERACY (from) Latin in-, not + literatus, literate. A condition that will prevent over 35% of American adults from reading this most enlightening work.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (from) Roman Catholicism. Often erroneously thought to refer to the conception of Christ, it was invented to absolve Mary of original sin. The early Church declared that she couldn't be worshipped as divine if she was human. Nevertheless, people insisted on worshipping her. By the 12th Century, Mariolatry even overshadowed the worship of God and Christ, so the doctrine of Immaculate Conception was invented to make her uniquely holy.

IMPERIALISM (from) Latin imperium, command, empire. The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition, as in colonialism, or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations. Not to be confused with the normal acquisition of North America from its native inhabitants.

"The attorney told us we did not have a legal defense, that the U.S. Government could do anything they wanted....they were not legally responsible to anyone. We had to disagree, because if this is true, why is there such a document as the Constitution of the U.S., and why would the U.S. try to offer to settle, and why would the U.S. have to use all means of crookedness and fraud to dispossess us of our land?" -- Marie Lego, surviving Pit River woman

INAUGURATE (from) Latin inaugurare, to practice augury, to take the omens. To induct into an office. The ticket to more chicken than you can stir a stick at.

INAURATE (from) Latin inaurare, to cover with gold; from aurum, gold. The inauguration of the undeserving to political office today is an omen of inauration, and the ticket to more gold than you can stir a chicken at.

INCINERATE (from) Latin in-, into + cinis, ashes. To consume by burning. Before the industrial revolution, large amounts of debris could be reduced to harmless ash. Now, due to the huge amounts of plastics, metals and chemicals in everyones' trash, we reduce our debris to harmful ash. Like dumping sewage into water, it doesn't dispose of the waste, it only hides it in a different form.

INCUMBENT (from) Latin incumbere, to lean upon. Lying, leaning, or resting upon something else. One who is bent upon keeping his income, which is not surprising.

INDEPENDENT (from) Latin in-, not + pendere, "to hang down." I strongly support independent thought and letting my hair hang down, so to speak, so I'm not sure I understand the origin "not hanging down," unless, of course, this refers to not hanging down by the neck. When I just hang around, others like to hang around with me. When I hang by the neck, I hang alone.

"Thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea." -- Melville

INDUSTRY (from) Latin industria, skill, diligence. The commercial production and sale of goods and services. If this is skill, does this mean good-buy?

"Because the Great Spirit did not provide humans with feathers, wool or lots of hair, let's agree that we are to clothe ourselves. To provide clothes, and food, for ourselves is an enforced industry necessitated upon all people. In addition to this, to serve the helpless; to bathe, feed, clothe and house them is the volunteer industry encouraged by the Great Spirit that we may prove the worthiness of our souls. Without this selfless industry no people can be truly virtuous. Does anyone care?" -- Roger Henry

INFORMATION (from) Latin. Once, that which kept the people of a democratic nation informed. Now, electronic and paper tubes of pap that keep semi-literates in formation.

INQUISITION (from) Latin inquirere, to ask. A major medieval industry to finance "the church" and force public acceptance of a religion that nobody wanted (except those who profited by the death of heretics). Is it any surprise that the wealthy heretics of Europe died first? What was the nature of the inquiry, if not to find fault? I still wince when Christ yens inquire as to my salvation, and I ask if they remember the Inquisition and how many innocent persons were murdered and tortured in the name of their god. For some reason it's not okay to ask them about that. They figure I've not been saved, but I have! I've been saved from Christianity, thank you!

INSURANCE (from) Latin "not without care." Legislatively enforced gambling. The business of collecting premiums and finding fault with claims. For example, "If you don't care to buy insurance for your family, all bets are off as to what the lawyers, courts, hospitals, and other insurance companies will do to you."

INTELLIGENT LIFE (from) The Great Spirit. The choice to protect a planet and the integrity of its peoples. For example, "There's no intelligent life on this planet Scotty, beam me up!"

INTRATERRESTRIALS (from) Latin intra-, within + terra, Earth. A generally unknown group that have been living below ground for an unknown period of time. They have been discovered by both private and government sponsored speelunkers, and there is every possibility that they travel among the stars in so-called UFOs. We surface dwellers have made no attempts to control this newly discovered land and people because we have no ready market for their real estate and advanced methods of manufacturing and transportation, to say nothing of the fact that they could probably kick our asses right out of existence.

INTRINSIC (from) Latin intra-, within + secus, alongside. Existing inside and outside of any structure or organism. Pertaining to the essential nature of a thing; inherent.

"...and the time will come when you'll see we're all one and life goes on within you and without you." -- The Beatles

INTUIT (from) Latin intueri, to look at. To know without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition. For example, "In order to increase one's cognition, one must simply be into it."

INVOICE (from) Old French envoy, a sending, shipment of goods. A list of goods shipped, or services rendered, with an account of costs. This word looks like in- + voice (from Latin vox, the IndoEuropean origin of which is wekw, to speak). Someone had to tell someone else what to put on the invoice.

INVOKE (from) Latin invocare, "to call upon," in- + vocare, to call (with the voice, vox) (from) wekw, to speak. To call upon (a higher power) for assistance, to petition. If we are petitioning for goods, services or favors, we must invoke those persons or powers that have more than we. We cannot deny the fact that God is keeping a record of all that we think, say and do, and you can bet that an invoice of our Earthly goods and services rendered will arrive at the Pearly Gates at the same time we do.

IRASCIBLE (from) Latin irasci, to get angry, from ira, anger. Hot tempered. Not to be confused with erasable, which the irascible are generally not.