Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [62]
-ible, -able. No reliable rules exist for when a word ends in -ible and when in -able; see Appendix for a list of some of the more frequently confused spellings.
Ibsen, Henrik. (1828–1906) Norwegian playwright.
ICBM. Intercontinental ballistic missile.
iceberg.
iced tea. Not ice.
Icelandair. Icelandic airline.
Iceni. British tribe that revolted against Rome under the leadership of Boudicca in the first century AD.
Ich dien. (Ger.) “I serve” motto of the Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom.
ichthyology. The study of fishes.
ichthyosaur, ichthyosaurus. Prehistoric marine reptile.
ici on parle français. (Fr.) “French spoken here.” Note lowercase français.
I, Claudius. Novel by Robert Graves (1934). Note comma.
Ictinus. (fl. fifth c. BC) Greek architect, co-designer with Callicrates of the Parthenon.
idée fixe. (Fr.) for an obsession or fixation. The plural is idées fixes.
ideology, ideological, ideologue.
ides of March. March 15, the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated. In the Roman calendar, the ides was the fifteenth of March, May, July, and October, and the thirteenth of the other months.
idiosyncrasy. One of the most commonly misspelled of all words. Note that the ending is -sy, not -cy.
idyll. Poem or prose depicting rural bliss.
i.e. Id est (Lat.) “that is to say.” Used to introduce an elaboration, as in “He is pusillanimous, i.e., lacking in courage.”
if. Problems often arise in deciding whether if is introducing a subjunctive clause (“If I were…”) or an indicative one (“If I was…”). The distinction is straightforward. When if introduces a notion that is hypothetical or improbable or clearly untrue, the verb should be in the subjunctive: “If I were king…” “If he were in your shoes…” But when the if is introducing a thought that is true or could well be true, the mood should be indicative: “If I was happy then, I certainly am not now.” One small hint: if the sentence contains would or wouldn’t, the mood is subjunctive, as in “If I were you, I wouldn’t take the job.”
if and when. Almost always unnecessary. Choose one or the other.
igneous rock.
ignominy, ignominious.
ignotum per ignotius. (Lat.) “The unknown by the even less known” used of an explanation that is more confusing than what it is meant to explain.
iguanodon. Not iguana-. Dinosaur.
Iguassu (or Iguaçu) Falls. Waterfall on the Argentina-Brazil border; in Portuguese, Saltos do Iuaçu; in Spanish, Cataratas del Iguazú.
IJsselmeer, the Netherlands; freshwater lake created by damming part of the Zuider Zee. Note double caps.
Île-de-France. Region of France that includes Paris.
ileum, ilium. The ileum is part of the small intestine; the ilium is part of the pelvis and, when capitalized, is also the Latin name for Troy.
Iliad. Epic poem attributed to Homer.
illegitimate, illegitimize.
Illinoian, not Illinoisian, for something or someone from Illinois.
illuminati. (Always plural.) Enlightened people.
illustrator.
imbroglio. A predicament, a complicated situation; pl. imbroglios.
immanent, imminent. The first means inherent, the second, impending. Neither should be confused with eminent, which means outstanding.
immaterial.
immeasurable.
immoral, amoral. Immoral applies to things that are evil; amoral describes matters in which questions of morality do not arise or are disregarded.
Immortels, Les. Nickname of members of the Académie Française.
immovable, immovability.
immutable.
impala. Not -ll-.
impassable, impassible. The first means impossible to negotiate; the second means impervious to pain.
impazientemente. (It.) In music, to perform in an impatient manner.
imperative.
imperceptible.
impermeable.
impertinent.
implacable.
imply, infer. Imply means to suggest: “He implied that I was a fool.” Infer means to deduce: “After three hours of waiting, we inferred that they weren’t coming.”
imports, exports. It is implicit in imports that their source is foreign, so it is tautological to write “imports from abroad.” Similar