"I" Word Origins

indecency

Origin

From in- ("not") plus decent plus the noun-forming suffix -cy.

indecent

Origin

From in- ("not") plus decent.

indecision

French

From French indécision, from in- ("not") plus décision.

indecisive

Latin

From in- ("not") + decisive, ultimately from Latin decidere, "to cut off, settle."

indecorous

Origin

By surface analysis, in- + decorous; or, Latin indecōrus.

indecorum

Origin

From Latin indecōrum, neuter substantive of indecōrus.

indeed

Middle English

From Middle English in dede, literally "in deed" — i.e. in actual fact, as opposed to merely in words.

indeedy

Origin

A playful extension of indeed with the added suffix -y, popular in folksy or comic speech.

indefatigable

Origin

From Middle French, from Latin indēfatīgābilis (“untiring”), from in- (“not”) + dēfatīgō (“to tire out”).

indefatigably

Origin

From indefatigable + -ly, but indefatigable itself was attested later. In use since the 16th century.

indefective

Origin

From in- + defective.

indefinite

Latin

From Latin indefinitus, "not defined," from in- ("not") + definitus ("defined, limited").

indelible

Latin

From Latin indelebilis, "that cannot be destroyed," from in- ("not") + delere ("to destroy, erase").

indelicate

Origin

From in- ("not") + delicate, in the sense of "refined, tactful."

indemnify

Origin

From indemn (“unhurt”) + -ify (forming verbs)

indemnity

Late Latin

From Late Latin indemnitas, "security from damage," from Latin indemnis ("unharmed"), from in- ("not") + damnum ("damage, loss").

indent

Origin

Partly from Middle English indenten (“to dent in”), equivalent to in- + dent (see dent); partly from Middle English indenten, endenten, from Old French endenter (“to cut notches into”), from en- (“in-, en-”) + dent (“tooth”), from Latin dēns.

indentation

Origin

From indent + -ation.

indenture

Origin

From Anglo-Norman endenture, from Old French endenteure, from endenter (“to dent”). The name of the contract derives from the irregular dent-shaped cut (indentation) used to prove the authenticity of the two parts, similar to a chirograph.

indentured

Origin

From indenture + -ed; an indenture was originally a contract cut with a zigzag ("indented") edge so the two copies could later be matched to prove authenticity.

independence

French

From French indépendance, built from in- ("not") + dependence.

independency

Origin

From independent + -cy.

independent

French

From French indépendant, from in- ("not") + dependent.

indescribable

Origin

From in- ("not") + describe + -able.

indestructible

Origin

From in- ("not") + destructible.

indeterminate

Latin

From in- ("not") + determinate, from Latin determinare ("to limit, fix boundaries").

index

Latin

From Latin index, "forefinger, indicator, sign," from indicare, "to point out" — the same root as indicate.

index fund

English

A compound of index, a published measure of a market's overall value, and fund, a pool of money invested on behalf of many people.

India

Latin

From Latin India, from Greek Indía, ultimately from the Indus river, whose name traces back to Sanskrit sindhu, "river."

Indian

Middle English

From Middle English Indien, from India, applied to the Americas due to Columbus's early belief he had reached the East Indies.

Indianapolis

Greek

Coined from the state name Indiana plus the Greek suffix -polis ("city").

indican

Origin

See indigo.

indicant

Origin

From Latin indicans.

indicate

Latin

From Latin indicare, "to point out," from in- ("toward") + dicare ("to proclaim, declare").

indication

Latin

From Latin indicatio, "a pointing out," from indicare, "to indicate."

indicative

Late Latin

From Late Latin indicativus, from indicare, "to indicate."

indicator

Late Latin

From Late Latin indicator, "one who points out," from indicare, "to indicate."

indicia

Origin

From Latin indicia, plural of indicium (“a notice, information, discovery, sign, mark, token”), from index (“index”); see index.

indict

Latin

From Middle English enditen, "to accuse," from Old French enditer, ultimately from Latin indicere, "to proclaim." The unusual "c" spelling was added later to echo the Latin form, though it isn't pronounced.

indictive

Origin

From Latin indictivus. See indict.

indictment

Latin

A later, Latinized respelling of Middle English endytement, from Old French enditer, "to accuse."

indie

Origin · 1980

A shortening of independent, with the informal -ie ending, first used of music in the 1980s and later applied to film and games.

Indies

Latin

From Latin India, historically applied broadly to regions east and west that early European explorers associated with India.

indifference

Late Latin

From Late Latin indifferentia, from in- ("not") + differre ("to differ").

indifferency

Origin

From Latin indifferentia.

indifferent

Latin

From Old French indifferent, from Latin indifferens, from in- ("not") + differens ("differing").

indigen

Origin

Variant of indigene. In a botanical sense first used by Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1918.

indigence

Origin

From Middle English indigence, late 14th century, from Old French indigence (13th century), from Latin indigentia, from indigentem, form of indigēre (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egēre (“be in need, want”). Only relation to antonym affluence is common Latinate suffix + -ence.