"I" Word Origins

incidence

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin incidentia, "a falling upon," from Latin incidere, "to fall upon" (in- + cadere, "to fall").

incident

Latin

From Latin incidens, present participle of incidere, "to happen, befall," from in- + cadere, "to fall."

incidental

Origin

From incident + -al.

incinerate

Latin

From Latin incinerātus, "reduced to ashes," from cinis, "ashes" — the same root as "cinder."

incinerator

Origin

Formed from incinerate + the agent suffix -or.

incipient

Origin

Borrowed from Latin incipiēns, present participle of incipiō (“begin”).

incise

Origin

From Middle French inciser.

incision

Late Latin

From Late Latin incisio, from incidō, "to cut into" (in- + caedō, "to cut").

incisive

Origin

Late Middle English (in the sense “cutting, penetrating”), borrowed from Medieval Latin incīsīvus, from incīdō (“to cut in, cut through”) + -īvus (“-ive”, adjectival suffix). Compare Middle French incisif.

incitation

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French incitation.

incite

Latin

From Latin incitō, "to set in motion, urge on," from in- + citō, "to set in motion" — related to "cite" and "excite."

incitement

Origin

From French incitement, from Latin incitāmentum (“incentive; incitement”), from incitō (“urge; quicken; incite”, verb). Equivalent to incite + -ment.

inclemency

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin inclēmentia. By surface analysis, inclemen(t) + -cy.

inclement

Latin

From Latin inclemens, from in-, 'not', and clemens, 'mild' or 'merciful'.

inclinable

Origin

From incline + -able.

inclination

Latin

From Old French inclination and Latin inclinatio, from inclinare, "to bend or lean" — the same root as "incline" and "lean."

incline

Latin

From Old French encliner, from Latin inclinare, "to bend or tilt," from in- + clino, related to the English word "lean."

include

Latin

From Latin includere, "to shut in, enclose," from in- + claudere, "to shut" — the same root as "close" and "enclose."

including

Origin

By surface analysis, include + -ing.

inclusion

Latin

From Latin inclusio, from includere, "to enclose" — see include.

inclusivity

Latin

Formed from inclusive, which derives from Latin includere 'to shut in', plus the noun ending -ity.

incognito

Latin

Borrowed from Italian incognito, from Latin incognitus, "unknown," from in- ("not") + cognitus ("known").

incognizable

Origin

From in- + cognizable.

incoherent

Latin

From in- ("not") + coherent, ultimately from Latin cohaerere, "to stick together."

incohesive

Origin

From in- + cohesive.

incombinable

Origin

From in- + combinable.

income

Old English

From Old English incyme, "an in-coming, an entrance," built from in- + come — the word originally described anything flowing in, before narrowing to money.

incoming

Origin

From in (adverb) + coming (adjective).

incommode

Origin

Learned borrowing from French incommoder (“to bother, disconcert, incommode”), from Latin incommodāre, the present active infinitive of incommodō (“to inconvenience”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commodō (“to accommodate, adapt; to bestow, provide; to hire, lend”) (from com- (a variant of con- (prefix indicating completeness or intensification)) + modō (the ablative or singular of modus (“manner, method, way; bound, limit; measure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”))). The English word is analysable as in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commode (“(archaic or obsolete) to provide (someone or something) with an appropriate, suitable, or necessary thing; to meet the requirements of (someone or something), suit; to repair (something)”).

incompact

Origin

From in- + compact.

incomparable

Latin

From Old French incomparable, from Latin incomparabilis, from in- ("not") + comparabilis ("comparable").

incompatible

French

Borrowed from French incompatible, from in- ("not") + compatible.

incompetence

French

From French incompétence, from in- ("not") + competence.

incompetent

Latin

From French incompétent, ultimately from Latin in- ("not") plus competēns ("competent, capable").

incomplete

Late Latin

From Late Latin incomplētus, from in- ("not") plus complētus ("complete, filled up").

incompletion

Origin

From in- + completion or incomplete + -ion

incomplex

Origin

From in- + complex.

incomplexity

Origin

From in- + complexity.

incomprehensible

Latin

From Middle French incomprehensible, from Latin incomprehēnsibilis, built from in- ("not") plus comprehendere ("to grasp, seize mentally").

incomputable

Origin

From in- + computable.

inconceivable

Latin

From in- ("not") plus conceivable, from Latin concipere ("to take in, form in the mind").

inconclusive

Origin

From in- ("not") plus conclusive.

incongruity

Origin

From Middle French incongruité, from Medieval Latin incongruitās, from Latin incongruus.

incongruous

Origin

From Latin incongruus, from in- (“not”) + congruus (“congruent”), equivalent to in- + congruous.

inconsequential

Origin

From in- ("not") plus consequential ("having significant consequences").

inconsiderable

Origin

From Middle French inconsidérable. By surface analysis, in- + considerable.

inconsiderate

Origin

From in- ("not") plus considerate.

inconsideration

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French inconsideration and its source, Latin incōnsiderātiōnem.