ITCH, ich, _n._ an uneasy, irritating sensation in the skin: an eruptive disease in the skin, caused by a parasitic animal: a constant teasing desire.--_v.i._ to have an uneasy, irritating sensation in the skin: to have a constant, teasing desire.--_ns._ ITCH'INESS; ITCH'-MITE, a mite which burrows in the skin, causing itch or scabies.--_adj._ ITCH'Y, pertaining to or affected with itch.--ITCHING PALM, a greed for gain. [A.S.
_giccan_, to itch; Scot. _youk_, _yuck_, Ger. _jucken_, to itch.]
ITEM, [=i]'tem, _adv._ likewise: also.--_n._ a separate article or particular.--_v.t._ to make a note of.--_v.t._ I'TEMISE, to give by items.
[L.,--_id_, that.]
ITERATE, it'[.e]r-[=a]t, _v.t._ to do again: to repeat, in modern usage replaced by the verb reiterate.--_ns._ IT'ERANCE, ITER[=A]'TION, repetition.--_adjs._ IT'ERANT, IT'ER[=A]TIVE, repeating. [L. _iter[=a]re_, _-[=a]tum_--_iterum_, again.]
ITHYPHALLIC, ith-i-fal'ik, _adj._ pertaining to certain rites: obscene.--_n._ ITHYPHALL'US, an erect phallus.
ITINERANT, [=i]-tin'er-ant, _adj._ making journeys from place to place: travelling.--_n._ one who travels from place to place, esp. a Methodist preacher: a wanderer.--_ns._ ITIN'ERACY, ITIN'ERANCY.--_adv._ ITIN'ERANTLY.--_adj._ ITIN'ERARY, travelling: done on a journey.--_n._ a book of travels: a guide-book for travellers: a rough sketch and description of the country through which troops are to march.--_v.i._ ITIN'ER[=A]TE, to travel from place to place, esp. for the purpose of preaching or lecturing. [L. _itinerans_, _-antis_, part. of _itiner[=a]ri_-, _-atus_, to travel--L. _iter_, _itineris_, a journey--_[=i]re_, _[=i]tum_, to go.]
ITS, its, _poss. pron._ the possessive of _it._ [The old form was _his_, _its_ not being older than the end of the 16th century. _Its_ does not occur in the English Bible of 1611, or in Spenser, rarely in Shakespeare, and is not common until the time of Dryden.]
ITSELF, it-self', _pron._ the neuter reciprocal pronoun, applied to things.--BY ITSELF, alone, apart; IN AND BY ITSELF, separately considered.
ITTNERITE, it'n[.e]r-[=i]t, _n._ a dark blue or gray mineral, consisting chiefly of silica, alumina, potash, and soda.
IVORY, [=i]'vo-ri, _n._ the hard, white substance composing the tusks of the elephant and of the sea-horse.--_adj._ made of, or resembling, ivory.--_adj._ I'VORIED, made like ivory: furnished with teeth.--_ns._ I'VORY-BLACK, a black powder, originally made from burnt ivory, but now from bone; I'VORY-NUT, the nut of a species of palm, containing a substance like ivory; I'VORY-PALM, the tree which bears the ivory-nut; I'VORY-POR'CELAIN, a fine ware with an ivory-white glaze.--SHOW ONE'S IVORIES, to show the teeth. [O. Fr. _ivurie_ (Fr. _ivoire_)--L. _ebur_, _eboris_, ivory; Coptic _ebu_; Sans. _ibhas_, an elephant.]
IVY, [=i]'vi, _n._ a creeping evergreen plant on trees and walls.--_adjs._ I'VIED, I'VYED, I'VY-MAN'TLED, overgrown or mantled with ivy.--_n._ I'VY-BUSH, a plant of ivy formerly hung over tavern-doors, the ivy being sacred to Bacchus. [A.S. _ifig_; Old High Ger. _ebah_; prob. conn. with L.
_apium_, parsley.]
IWIS, YWIS, i-wis', _adv._ certainly--sometimes ignorantly written _I wis_, as if 'I know.' [M. E. _ywis_, _iwis_--A.S. _gewis_, certain; Ger. _gewiss_ (adv.).]
IXION, ik-s[=i]'on, _n._ (_Gr. myth._) a king of the Lapithae, bound, for an impious attempt on Hera, hand and foot to a fiery wheel which rolled for ever in the sky.
IXOLITE, iks'o-l[=i]t, _n._ a fossil resin, found in bituminous coal, which becomes soft and sticky when heated. [Gr. _ixos_, birdlime, _lithos_, a stone.]
IXTLE. See ISTLE.
J the tenth letter in our alphabet, developed from I, the initial form _j_ being specialised to denote the consonantal sound, the medial _i_ being retained for the vowel-sound--not universal in English books before the middle of the 17th century. As a numeral, a variant of I, used in medical prescriptions, as _vj_, six: representing the mechanical equivalent of heat--from Joule.
JABBER, jab'[.e]r, _v.i._ to gabble or talk rapidly and indistinctly: to chatter.--_v.t._ to utter indistinctly:--_pr.p._ jabb'ering; _pa.p._ jabb'ered.--_n._ rapid indistinct speaking.--_n._ JABB'ERER.--_adv._ JABB'ERINGLY. [From root of _gabble_.]
JABBLE, jab'l, _n._ (_Scot._) an agitation on the surface of water.--_v.t._ to splash. [Cf. _jaup_.]
JABIRU, jab'i-r[=u], _n._ a kind of large stork. [Brazilian.]
JABORANDI, jab'o-ran'di, _n._ a Brazilian shrub with sialogogue and diaphoretic properties. [Brazilian.]
JABOT, zha-b[=o]', _n._ a frill of lace, &c., worn by women on the bodice.
JACAMAR, jak'a-mar, _n._ a South American bird something like a kingfisher.
[Fr.,--Brazilian.]
JACANA, ja-k[=a]'na, _n._ a tropical bird, allied to the rails, and frequenting swamps. [Brazilian.]
JACARANDA, jak-a-ran'da, _n._ a South American tree with hard, heavy, brown wood. [Brazilian.]
JACCHUS, jak'us, _n._ a South American marmoset.
JACENT, j[=a]'sent, _adj._ lying at length.
JACINTH, j[=a]'sinth, _n._ (_B._) a precious stone, a red variety of zircon, now called hyacinth: a reddish-orange colour. [Contr. of _hyacinth_.]
JACK, jak, _n._ used as a familiar name or diminutive of John: a saucy or paltry fellow: a sailor: any instrument serving to supply the place of a boy or helper, as a bootjack for taking off boots, a contrivance for turning a spit (smoke-jack, roasting-jack), a screw for raising heavy weights, a figure which strikes the bell in clocks: the male of some animals: a young pike: a support to saw wood on: a miner's wedge: a flag displayed from the bowsprit of a ship: a leather pitcher or bottle: a coat of mail: (_coll._) a knave in cards: the small white ball that forms the aim in bowls.--_ns._ JACK'-A-DAN'DY, a dandy or fop, esp. if diminutive; JACK'-A-LAN'TERN, the _ignis fatuus_ or Will-o'-the-Wisp; JACK'-A-LENT'
(_Shak._), a boy (for JACK OF LENT, a kind of puppet formerly thrown at in sport at Lent); JACK'-BLOCK, a block of pulleys used for raising and lowering topgallant-masts.--_n.pl._ JACK'BOOTS, large boots reaching above the knee, to protect the leg, formerly worn by cavalry, and covered with plates of iron.--_ns._ JACK'-CROSS'-TREE, the cross-tree at the head of a topgallant-mast; JACK'-FLAG, a flag which is hoisted at the spritsail topmast-head; JACK'-FOOL, an absolute ass; JACK'-IN-OFF'ICE, a conceited and impertinent official; JACK'-IN-THE-BOX', a box with a figure in it that springs up when the lid is lifted; JACK'-IN-THE-GREEN', a May-day chimney-sweep almost covered up with green shrubs; JACK'-KNIFE, a large clasp-knife; JACK'-MAN, a soldier armed with a jack or coat of mail: a retainer; JACK'-NAS'TY, a sneak, a sloven; JACK'-OF-ALL'-TRADES, one who can turn his hand to anything; JACK'-PLANE, a large, strong plane used by joiners; JACK'-PUDD'ING, a merry-andrew, buffoon; JACK'-RABB'IT, one of several species of prairie-hares, with very long ears and legs; JACK'-RAFT'ER, a rafter, shorter than the rest, used in hip-roofs; JACK'-SAUCE (_Shak._), a saucy fellow; JACK'-SCREW, a screw for raising heavy weights; JACK'-SLAVE (_Shak._), a low servant, a vulgar fellow; JACK'-SMITH, a smith who makes jacks for the kitchen; JACK'-SNIPE, a small species of snipe; JACK'-STAFF, the staff on which the jack is hoisted.--_n.pl._ JACK'-STAYS, ropes or strips of wood or iron stretched along the yards of a ship to bind the sails to.--_ns._ JACK'-STRAW, a straw effigy, a low servile fellow; JACK'-TAR, a sailor; JACK'-TOWEL, a long endless towel passing over a roller.--JACK FROST, frost personified as a mischievous fellow; JACK KETCH, a public hangman--from one so named under James II.; JACK SPRAT, a diminutive fellow.--CHEAP JACK (see CHEAP); EVERY MAN JACK, one and all; YELLOW JACK (_slang_), yellow fever. [Fr. _Jacques_, the most common name in France, hence used as a substitute for _John_, the most common name in England; but it is really=_James_ or _Jacob_--L.
_Jacobus_.]
JACK, JAK, jak, _n._ a tree of the East Indies of the same genus as the bread-fruit tree. [Port. _jaka_--Malay _tsjaka_.]
JACKAL, jak'awl, _n._ a wild, gregarious animal closely allied to the dog--erroneously supposed to act as a lion's provider or hunting scout, hence a tool, a Parasite. [Pers. _shagh[=a]l_.]
JACKANAPES, jak'a-n[=a]ps, _n._ an impudent fellow: a coxcomb. [_Jack o'
apes_, one who exhibited monkeys, with _n_ inserted to avoid the hiatus.]
JACKASS, jak'as, _n._ the male of the ass: a blockhead. [_Jack_--the male, and _ass_.]
JACKDAW, jak'daw, _n._ a species of crow. [_Jack_ and _daw_.]
JACKET, jak'et, _n._ a short coat.--_adj._ Jack'eted, wearing a jacket. [O.
Fr. _jaquette_, a jacket, or sleeveless coat, a dim. of O. Fr. _jaque_, a coat of mail, prob. ultimately conn. with _Jacques_.]
JACOBEAN, jak-o-b[=e]'an, _adj._ of the period of James I. of England (1603-25).
JACOBIN, jak'o-bin, _n._ a French Dominican monk, so named from their original establishment being that of St _Jacques_, Paris: one of a society of revolutionists in France, so called from their meeting in the hall of the Jacobin convent: a demagogue: a hooded pigeon.--_adjs._ JACOBIN'IC, -AL.--_v.t._ JAC'OBINISE.--_n._ JAC'OBINISM, the principles of the Jacobins or French revolutionists. [Fr.,--L. _Jacobus_, James--Gr. _Jacobos_--Heb.
_Ya'aq[=o]b_.]
JACOBITE, jak'o-b[=i]t, _n._ an adherent of James II. and his descendants: in Church history, a Syrian monophysite, named after the 6th-century monk, _Jacobus_ Baradaeus.--_adjs._ JAC'OBITE, JACOBIT'IC, -AL.--_n._ JAC'OBITISM.
JACOB'S-LADDER, j[=a]'kobz-lad'[.e]r, _n._ (_naut._) a ladder made of ropes with wooden steps: a garden plant with large blue flowers. [From the ladder which _Jacob_ saw in his dream, Gen. xxviii. 12.]
JACOB'S-STAFF, j[=a]'kobz-staf, _n._ a pilgrim's staff: a staff with a cross-head used in surveying: a sword-cane. [Prob. an allusion to the staff of the patriarch _Jacob_, Gen. xxxii. 10.]
JACOBUS, ja-k[=o]'bus, _n._ a gold coin of James I. worth 20s.
JACONET, jak'o-net, _n._ a cotton fabric, rather stouter than muslin. [Fr.
_jaconas_.]
JACQUARD LOOM. See LOOM.
JACQUEMINOT, jak'mi-n[=o], _n._ a deep-red hybrid perpetual rose.--Also JACQUE and JACK. [From General _Jacqueminot_ of Paris.]
JACQUERIE, zhak'e-r[=e], _n._ name given to the revolt of the French peasants in 1358. [From _Jacques_ Bonhomme, Goodman Jack, a name applied in derision to the peasants.]
JACTATION, jak-t[=a]'shun, _n._ act of throwing: extreme restlessness in disease: agitation of the body: boasting.