Iago-like = (of a person) very treacherous (‘Iago’ is pronounced ‘eye-ar-go’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. After the Italian media alleged that the Pope’s butler was behind the leaking of confidential Vatican papers, many were quick to label the butler an Iago-like traitor
‘Iago’ is the name of the treacherous villain in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (1601–4). A soldier who fought beside Othello (a Moorish general) for many years, Iago is Othello’s trusted junior and adviser.
But Iago, in fact, hates Othello – although no official motive is provided by Shakespeare, jealousy of Othello’s elevated social status is suspected as the reason – and so devises a plan to destroy him, by making Othello believe that his wife is having an affair with a lieutenant. In the end, Othello, believing Iago’s lies about his wife, kills her; but Iago’s treachery is then finally revealed – by his own wife.
Today we reserve the term ‘Iago-like’ for the kind of person who is in a position of trust but who then betrays this in spectacular fashion.
(the) id; ego; and superego (noun) = (of humans) subconscious passions; conscious thought; and the conscience itself for full explanation, see box below
e.g. The id drives someone on a diet to reach for that extra cookie; ‘OK, but just this once’ says the ego; but then the superego wades in and prevails, citing the longer-lasting glow of self-restraint and urging abstinence
Tired of hearing the woolly phrase ‘the unconscious’, Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) invented these three terms – the ‘id’; ‘ego’; and ‘superego’ – so he could be more precise when describing the mental lives of humans.
In his work The Ego and the Id (1923), Freud explained that the ‘id’ seeks instant self-gratification, and is not conscious – so the ‘id’ can be thought of as ‘animal instinct’ (reflected in the Latin meaning of ‘id’, which is ‘it’). The ‘ego’ (which means the more human ‘I’ in Latin), though, is a kind of safety mechanism, sometimes overruling the ‘id’ and stopping the ‘id’ from having its way, especially if physical harm would result. However, most of the time, the ‘ego’ is soft on the ‘id’, and produces some mental gymnastics (such as rationalisation or denial) in order to indulge the base instinct of the ‘id’. Freud used the analogy of the ‘id’ as a wild horse, and the ‘ego’ as the man on the horse’s back, attempting to control it, before giving in. (Note that Freud’s definition of ‘ego’ has nothing to do with the defintion of ‘ego’ prevalent today, such as in the phrase ‘he has a big ego’.)
And finally, the ‘superego’ (which is ‘above the ego’ and so, almost God-like) is our conscience, explaining to us the moral – rather than the physical – consequences if we actually go ahead and follow the urges of the ‘id’ (which has at this stage convinced the ‘ego’ of the merits of its scheme).
immiseration (noun) = impoverishment (pronounced ‘ih-mis-uh-rey-shun’) from the English words, in- + miserable + -ation
e.g. The novels of Charles Dickens concern people – such as Oliver Twist – who try to rise above their lives of immiseration
self-immolation (noun) = the deliberate sacrifice of oneself, by setting oneself alight (‘immolation’ is pronounced ‘im-uh-ley-shuhn’) from the Latin, immolatio: a sacrifice
e.g. The Arab Spring was started by the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Tunisia who – as a protest against police corruption – set himself alight
to immure (verb) = to shut someone in, against their will (pronounced ‘ih-myoor’) from the Latin, immurare: to enclose, from in-: in + murus: wall
e.g. It was soon after he was spotted scratching the ground and making clucking sounds that my uncle was immured in a lunatic asylum
impassable (adj.) = insurmountable (pronounced ‘im-pas-uh-buhl’) from the English words, im- (expressing a negative) + passable; ‘impassable’ literally means ‘cannot be passed’
e.g. If an impassable division develops between a couple, they will often divorce
impedimenta (plural noun) = bulky equipment for an activity (pronounced ‘im-ped-uh-men-tuh’) from the Latin plural of impedimentum: impediment, from impedire: to impede
e.g. On the day that the very last Harry Potter book was published, there appeared on the street outside bookshops up and down the country a huge queue of fans sporting Hogwarts impedimenta
impolitic (adj.) = unwise (pronounced ‘im-pol-i-tik’) from the English words, in- + politic, from the French, politique, from the Latin, politicus: civil
e.g. If someone else is treating you to dinner, it’s impolitic to order the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu
to importune (someone to something)
to importune (someone to something) (verb) = to ask (someone) persistently to do something (pronounced ‘im-pawr-toon’) from the Latin, importunus: troublesome; originally the Latin ‘importunus’ had a more literal meaning, describing a place ‘having no harbour’ (i.e. ‘troublesome for a ship to access’), from ‘in-’: not + ‘portus’: harbour
e.g. After she said ‘no’ to his marriage proposal, he importuned her every day to accept his invitation, until she eventually cracked
to mutter imprecations (set phrase) = to mutter curses (‘imprecations’ are pronounced ‘im-pri-key-shuhns’) from the Latin, imprecari: to curse, from in-: toward + precari: to pray
e.g. The Olympic athlete came last in the race, then rolled around in the dust, muttering imprecations
imprest funds (set phrase) = funds for paying small expenditures, topped up periodically (‘imprest’ is pronounced ‘im-prest’) from the obsolete Italian, imprestare: to lend, from the Latin, in-: toward + prestare: to lend
e.g. He saw the coffee tin was empty, so headed in the direction of the secretary’s desk, where the imprest funds were kept in a jar
to impugn (someone or something) (verb) = to verbally attack (someone or something) (pronounced ‘im-pyoon’) from the Latin, impugnare: to assail, from in-: toward + pugnare: to fight
e.g. In the run-up to the US Presidential elections, the two main opponents spend much of their time impugning each other’s character on TV
to impute (something) to (something) = to ascribe (something) to (something) from the Latin, imputare: to ascribe, from in-: toward + putare: to think
e.g. The airline imputed the plane crash to a faulty engine
inalienable rights (set phrase) = rights that cannot be taken away (pronounced ‘in-ey-lee-uh-nuh-buhl) from the English words, in-: not (from the Latin, in: not) + alienable: capable of being transferred to another; from the Latin, alienare: to make another’s (and, hence, to estrange); from alius: another; ‘inalienable rights’ literally means ‘rights that cannot be transferred to another’
e.g. People feel safe buying property in the United Kingdom since the country has laws setting out citizens’ inalienable rights
inamorata (noun) = a woman with whom one is in love (pronounced ‘in-am-uh-rah-tuh’) from the Italian, inamorata: the enamoured one, past participle of the verb inamorare, based on the Latin, amor: love
e.g. When Obama took Michelle out for a date night in New York – including a dinner at Bluehill Restaurant (renowned for its ‘locally grown fare’), and a Broadway show – photographers swarmed around the President and his inamorata
incantation (noun) = a conventional utterance, repeated without thinking from the Latin, incantare: to chant
e.g. The Queen must be used to people firing sycophantic incantations in her direction
indefatigable (adj.) = tireless (pronounced ‘in-di-fat-i-guh-buhl’) from the Latin, indefatigabilis: that cannot be tired out, from in-: not + defatigare: to tire out
e.g. The actor Richard Burton was such an indefatigable fornicator that – according to one commentator – ‘he made Errol Flynn look like the head of the Cistercian order of monks’
to induce from (a specific situation) that (verb) = to work out a general rule from (a specific situation) that from the Latin, inducere: to lead in, from in-: into + ducere: to lead
e.g. She refused to tell him where she’d spent the night, and he induced from her silence that she was having an affair
infra dig (set phrase) = beneath one’s dignity, demeaning from the Latin, infra dignitatem: beneath one’s dignity
e.g. Some snobs used to consider rosé wine to be infra dig, but now it’s considered very acceptable
inkhorn terms (set phrase) = pedantic terms from the 14th-century English word, inkhorn: a small container – originally made out of an animal’s horn – for holding ink, beloved of scribblers (as are ‘inkhorn terms’)
e.g. In his interviews, the painter David Hockney is refreshingly free of the inkhorn terms common to the art critics who comment on his work
to inter (someone) (verb) = to bury (someone) (pronounced ‘in-tur’) from the Latin, in-: into + terra: earth
e.g. When he started insisting on eating cat food for breakfast, his family took the decision to inter him in a lunatic asylum
intractable (adj.) = uncontrollable; note that the opposite, ‘tractable’, means ‘controllable’ (pronounced ‘in-trak-tuh-buhl’) from the Latin, intractabilis, from in-: not + tractare: to handle
e.g. Police officers are rumoured to use rubber battons to beat intractable prisoners
insensate (adj.) = lacking sensation (pronounced ‘in-sen-seyt’) from the Latin, insensatus, from in-: not + sensatus: having senses
e.g. For years, coma victims can lie in hospital beds in a totally insensate state
to interdict (verb) = to forbid (something) from the Latin, interdicere: to forbid by decree, from inter-: between and dicere: to say
e.g. In the United States, for people under 21 years old, alcohol is interdicted
interlocutor (noun) = a person who participates in a conversation (pronounced ‘in-ter-lok-yuh-ter’) from the Latin, interlocut-: interrupted (by speech), from interloqui, from inter-: between + loqui: to speak
e.g. The English often communicate not by saying what’s on their mind, but by hoping their interlocutor will correctly interpret a twitch of the forehead or a mournful wipe of the nose
interloper (noun) = an intruder from inter-: amidst + loper: to leap, from the Middle Dutch, loopen: to leap
e.g. Federer has dominated men’s tennis for so long that, when anyone else wins Wimbledon, they almost look like an interloper
interpolation (noun) = a remark inserted into a conversation (pronounced ‘in-tur-puh-ley-shuhn’) from the Latin, interpolare: to alter, from inter-: between + polare, related to polire: to polish
e.g. Adults bemoan teenagers who can’t complete a sentence without the mandatory interpolation of the words ‘like’ or ‘kind of’
interstices (pl. noun) = spaces between objects (pronounced ‘in-tur-stis-ees’) from the Latin, intersistere: to stand between, from inter: between + sistere: to stand
e.g. People who read memoirs accept that some fiction often creeps into the interstices between facts
intransigent (adj.) = uncompromising (pronounced ‘in-tran-si-juhnt’) from the Latin, in-: not + transigere: to come to an agreement
e.g. Critics of Steve Jobs say he was an intransigent ego maniac
ipso facto (set phrase) = by the very fact itself from the Latin, ipso facto: by that very fact
e.g. The enemy of one’s enemy is ipso facto one’s friend
iridescent (adj.) = displaying rainbow-like colours (pronounced ‘ir-i-des-uhnt’) from the Latin, iris, irid-: rainbow + - escent
e.g. My wife enjoys relaxing in the bath with a gin and tonic, surrounded by iridescent bubbles that pop periodically
irredentist (noun, or adj.) = a person advocating the return to their country of any territory historically belonging to it, but currently occupied by foreigners (pronounced ‘ir-i-den-tist’) from the Italian, (Italia) irredenta: unredeemed (Italy); the word ‘irrendentist’ derives from 19th-century politics, to describe an Italian politican who advocated the return to Italy of all neighbouring Italian-speaking regions (such as Corsica)
e.g. Britain is continually urging Argentina to abandon their irredentist policy towards the Falklands, and allow the islanders to decide their own allegiance
irrefragable (adj.) = (of a fact) not to be contested (pronounced ‘ih-ref-ruh-guh-buhl’) from the Latin, irrefragabilis, from in-: not + refragari: to contest, from re-: back + frag-, based on frangere: to break
e.g. It’s an irrefragable fact that – after he died in the car crash in Paris that also killed Princess Diana – the chauffeur Henri Paul had a blood alcohol content level more than three times the threshold for drink driving under French law
isomorphic (adj.) = having the same appearance from the Greek, isos: same + morphe: shape
e.g. Some say that Britney Spears and Taylor Swift – all blonde hair and tight jeans – are isomorphic
iteration (noun) = a repeated performance from the Latin, iterare: to repeat, from iterum: again
e.g. As the Presidential election approached, Americans prepared themselves for yet another iteration of mud-slinging and promises of change