"I" Word Origins

insidious

Latin

From Latin insidiosus ("cunning, deceitful"), related to insidiae ("an ambush"), from insidere ("to sit in wait").

insight

Middle English

From Middle English insight, built from in- + sight — literally a "seeing into" something.

insightful

Origin

A modern formation from insight + -ful.

insightfulness

Origin

From insightful + -ness.

insignia

Latin

From Latin insignia, plural of insigne ("emblem, mark"). A doublet of ensign.

insignificant

Origin

From in- ("not") + significant.

insincere

Latin

From Latin insincerus, from in- ("not") + sincerus ("genuine, sincere").

insinuate

Latin

From Latin insinuare ("to push in, creep in"), from in- ("in") + sinus ("a curve, fold, bay").

insinuation

Latin

From Latin insinuatio, from insinuare ("to push in, creep in").

insipid

Latin

From French insipide, from Latin insipidus, from in- ("not") + sapidus ("tasty").

insipient

Origin

From Middle English insipient, incipient, from Old French insipient, ultimately from Latin īnsipiēns.

insist

Latin

From Latin insistere ("to stand upon, persist"), from in- + sistere ("to stand").

insistence

French

From insist, on the model of French insistance.

insistent

Latin

From Latin insistens, present participle of insistere ("to stand upon, persist").

insobriety

Origin

From in- (“not”) + sobriety, possibly influenced by and punning on inebriation, intoxication, where in- has the sense “in, into”.

insofar

Origin

Formed by fusing in + so + far into one word.

insolation

Origin

Borrowed from French insolation, from Latin insolatio (“a setting or placing in the sun”).

insolence

Latin

From Latin insolentia, related to insolens ("unaccustomed, arrogant").

insolency

Origin

Borrowed from Latin īnsolentia.

insolent

Latin

From Old French, from Latin insolens ("unaccustomed, arrogant"), from in- + solere ("to be accustomed").

insolubility

Origin

From Latin insolūbilitās or from insoluble + -ity.

insoluble

Origin

From Middle English insolible, from Middle French insoluble, from Latin insolūbilis, from in- + solūbilis. Piecewise doublet of insolvable and unsolvable. By surface analysis, in- + soluble.

insolvable

Origin

From in- + solvable. Piecewise doublet of insoluble and unsolvable.

insomnia

Latin

Borrowed from Latin insomnia, from in- ("without") + somnus ("sleep").

insomniac

Origin

From insomnia + the noun/adjective suffix -ac.

insouciant

Origin

From French insouciant, from in- (“not”, prefix) + souciant (“worrying”), 1828.

inspect

Latin

From Latin inspicere ("to look into"), from in- + specere ("to look at").

inspection

Latin

From Latin inspectio ("examination"), from inspicere ("to inspect").

inspector

Latin

From Latin inspector, from inspicere ("to inspect").

inspiration

Late Latin

From Old French inspiration, from Late Latin inspirationem, from inspirare ("to breathe into") — the same root that gives us "inspire."

inspirational

Origin

From inspiration + -al.

inspire

Latin

From Old French inspirer, from Latin inspirare ("to breathe into"), from in- + spirare ("to breathe") — a loan-translation of a Biblical Greek phrase meaning "to breathe [life] into."

inspite

Origin

A run-together spelling of "in spite of."

instability

Latin

From Latin instabilitas, from in- ("not") + stability.

Instagram

Origin

A trademarked blend of "instant" and "telegram."

install

Medieval Latin

From Old French installer, from Medieval Latin installare ("to put in place"), from in- + stallum ("stall, place"), ultimately from a Germanic word for a fixed position.

installation

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin installatio, from installare ("to install").

installment

Old French · 1732

An altered 1732 spelling of "estallment," from Anglo-Norman estaler ("to fix payments"), from Old French estal ("fixed position").

instance

Latin

From Latin instantia ("presence, urgency"), from instans ("urgent, pressing").

instant

Latin

From Old French instant, from Latin instans ("standing near, pressing, urgent"), the present participle of instare, "to stand upon or press upon" — from in- ("on") + stare ("to stand").

instantaneous

New Latin

From New Latin instantaneus, built on the same Latin root as instant.

instanter

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from Medieval Latin īnstanter (“immediately”), originally “vehemently” in Classical Latin.

instauration

Origin

From Latin instauratio: compare French instauration.

instead

Middle English

From Middle English "in stede," literally "in place (of)" — the same "stead" that survives in "homestead" and "stead of".

instigate

Latin

From Latin instigatus, the past participle of instigare, "to goad on, urge, incite."

instigation

Origin

From Middle English instigacioun, from Old French instigacïon and Latin instīgātio.

instigator

Latin

From Latin īnstīgātor (“stimulator”), from īnstīgāre (present infinitive of īnstīgō (“to incite, set on, stimulate, rouse or urge”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab; to puncture; to goad”)) + -or (from -ō (suffix forming masculine agent nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂- (suffix forming nouns denoting authority or burden)); cognate with French instigateur. By surface analysis, instigate + -or.

instill

Latin

From Latin instillare, "to pour in drop by drop" — from in- ("in") + stilla ("a drop").