"I" Word Origins

instinct

Latin

From Latin instinctus, "impulse, instigation" — from instinguere, "to incite or spur on."

institute

Latin

From Latin institutum, "something established," from instituere, "to set up, establish."

institution

Latin

From Latin institutio, "arrangement, custom," from instituere ("to set up") — equivalent to institute + -ion.

institutional

Origin

From institution + -al.

instrew

Origin

From Middle English *instrewen, instrien, equivalent to in- + strew.

instruct

Latin

From Latin instructus, past participle of instruere, "to build, arrange, or equip."

instructed

Latin

Past tense of instruct, from Latin instruere 'to build, arrange, equip or teach', from in- 'in' plus struere 'to pile up, build'.

instructor

Latin

From Latin instructor — equivalent to instruct + -or.

instrument

Latin

From Latin instrumentum, "tool, equipment," from instruere ("to build, arrange, equip") + -mentum.

instrumental

Middle English

From Middle English instrumental, instrumentale, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis, equivalent to instrument + -al.

insubmissive

Origin

From in- + submissive.

insubordinate

French

From in- ("not") + subordinate, modeled on French insubordonné.

insubordination

French

From in- ("not") + subordination, modeled on French insubordination.

insubstantial

Origin

Probably from Middle French insubstantiel, from Latin insubstantiālis, from in- + substantiālis. By surface analysis, in- + substantial.

insufferable

Latin

From in- ("not") + sufferable ("bearable"), ultimately from Latin sufferre, "to bear or endure."

insufficient

Latin

From Latin insufficiens — in- ("not") + sufficiens ("sufficient").

insufflate

Origin

First attested in 1670; borrowed from Latin īnsufflātus, perfect passive participle of īnsufflō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)) from in- + sufflō (“to blow on”). Cognate with French insuffler.

insular

Latin

From Latin insularis, from insula 'island'.

insularism

Origin

From insular + -ism.

insulate

Latin

From Latin insula, "island," plus the -ate suffix — the idea of turning something into its own isolated "island."

insulin

Latin

From Latin insula ("island") + -in, named after the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, where the hormone is produced.

insult

Latin

From Latin insultare, "to leap or spring upon; to taunt," the frequentative form of insilire ("to leap upon"), from in- + salire ("to jump").

insultation

Origin

Latin insultatio, from insulto: compare Old French insultation.

insupportable

Origin

From Middle French insupportable, from Late Latin insupportabilis. See also in- + supportable.

insurance

Origin

From the older form "ensurance," related to "assurance" — ultimately from insure + -ance.

insure

Origin

First attested in c. 1440, as a variant of Middle English ensuren (from Anglo-Norman enseurer, itself from Old French en- + seür (“sure”), probably influenced by Old French asseürer (“to assure”)); took on its particular sense of "make safe against loss by payment of premiums" in 1635, replacing assure. Doublet of ensure.

insurgency

Origin

From insurgent + -cy.

insurgent

Latin

From Latin insurgens, present participle of insurgere, "to rise up against" — from in- ("against") + surgere ("to rise").

insurmountable

Origin

From in- ("not") + surmountable, meaning "able to be overcome."

insurrection

Latin

From Latin insurrectio, "a rising up," from insurgere ("to rise up") — from in- + surgere ("to rise").

int

Origin

The gaming sense is a back-formation from "inting," itself a shortening of "intentional/intentionally feeding" — losing on purpose in an online match.

intact

Latin

From Latin intactus, "untouched" — the negative of tactus, "touched" (the same root gives us "tactile" and "contact").

intake

English

From English dialectal (Northern England/Scotland), deverbal of take in, equivalent to in- + take. More at in-, take.

intangible

Latin

From Latin tangere, "to touch," with the negative prefix in- — literally "untouchable."

intastable

Origin

From in- + tastable.

integer

Latin

From Latin integer, meaning "whole, intact, untouched", from in- ("not") plus a root related to tangere ("to touch"). The same word gives English integrity.

integral

Latin

From Latin integer, "whole, untouched" — the same root as the number word "integer."

integrate

Latin

From Latin integrare, "to make whole," from integer, "whole, entire."

integration

Latin

From Latin integrare, "to make whole or complete", from integer, "whole".

integrity

Latin

From Latin integritas, "wholeness, soundness," from integer, "whole, untouched."

intel

Origin

A shortened form of "intelligence."

intellect

Latin

From Latin intellectus, "understanding," from intellegere, "to understand," literally "to choose between" (inter-, "between" + legere, "to gather, choose").

intellection

Origin

Borrowed from Latin intellectiō, intellectiōnem.

intellectual

Latin

From Latin intellectualis, based on intellectus, "understanding."

intelligence

Latin

From Latin intelligentia, from intellegere, "to understand," built from inter- ("between") + legere ("to choose, gather").

intelligencer

Origin

From intelligence + -er.

intelligent

Latin

From Latin intellegens, "discerning, understanding," present participle of intellegere.

intelligentsia

Origin

From Russian интеллиге́нция (intelligéncija) or Polish inteligencja, from Latin intellegentia (“intelligence”). Doublet of intelligence.