INDEPENDENT a.
Not bound by party; exercising a free choice in voting with either or any party. Independent company (Mil.), one not incorporated in any regiment. -- Independent seconds watch, a stop watch having a second hand driven by a separate set of wheels, springs, etc., for timing to a fraction of a second. -- Independent var…
INTEMPERANCE n.
indulgence of the appetites or passions. God is in every creature; be cruel toward none, neither abuse any by intemperance. Jer. Taylor. Some, as thou sawest, by violent stroke shall die, By fire, flood, famine, by intemperance more In meats and drinks. Milton.
INTERNAL-COMBUSTION; INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE a.
oil engines, using either an atomized spray or the vapor (produced by heat) of a comparatively heavy oil, as petroleum or kerosene. In all of these the gas is mixed with a definite amount of air, the charge is composed in the cylinder and is then exploded either by a flame of gas (flame ignition -- now little used), by…
INVEIGH v.
ng); to utter censorious and bitter language; to attack with harsh criticism or reproach, either spoken or written; to use invectives; -- with against; as, to inveigh against character, conduct, manners, customs, morals, a law, an abuse. All men inveighed against him; all men, except court vassals, opposed him. Milton.…
INVIOLABLE a.
Not violable; not susceptible of hurt, wound, or harm (used with respect to either physical or moral damage); not susceptible of being profaned or corrupted; sacred; holy; as, inviolable honor or chastity; an inviolable shrine. He tried a third, a tough, well-chosen spear, The inviolable body stood sincere. Dryden.…
IONIC n.
A foot consisting of four syllables: either two long and two short, -- that is, a spondee and a pyrrhic, in which case it is called the greater Ionic; or two short and two long, -- that is, a pyrrhic and a spondee, in which case it is called the smaller Ionic.
IRON n.
sailing vessel, when, in tacking, she comes up head to the wind and will not fill away on either tack. -- Magnetic iron. See Magnetite. -- Malleable iron (Metal.), iron sufficiently pure or soft to be capable of extension under the hammer; also, specif., a kind of iron produced by removing a portion of the carbon or…