[syn: one, 1, i, ane]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
I \I\ ([imac]).
1. I, the ninth letter of the English alphabet, takes its
form from the Ph[oe]nician, through the Latin and the
Greek. The Ph[oe]nician letter was probably of Egyptian
origin. Its original value was nearly the same as that of
the Italian I, or long e as in mete. Etymologically I is
most closely related to e, y, j, g; as in dint, dent,
beverage, L. bibere; E. kin, AS. cynn; E. thin, AS.
[thorn]ynne; E. dominion, donjon, dungeon. In English I
has two principal vowel sounds: the long sound, as in
p[imac]ne, [imac]ce; and the short sound, as in p[i^]n. It
has also three other sounds: (a) That of e in term, as in
thirst. (b) That of e in mete (in words of foreign
origin), as in machine, pique, regime. (c) That of
consonant y (in many words in which it precedes another
vowel), as in bunion, million, filial, Christian, etc. It
enters into several digraphs, as in fail, field, seize,
feign. friend; and with o often forms a proper diphtong,
as in oil, join, coin. See Guide to Pronunciation,
[sect][sect] 98-106.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The dot which we place over the small or lower case i
dates only from the 14th century. The sounds of I and J
were originally represented by the same character, and
even after the introduction of the form J into English
dictionaries, words containing these letters were, till
a comparatively recent time, classed together.
[1913 Webster]
2. In our old authors, I was often used for ay (or aye), yes,
which is pronounced nearly like it.
[1913 Webster]
3. As a numeral, I stands for 1, II for 2, etc.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
I- \I-\, prefix.
See Y-.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
I \I\ ([imac]), pron. [poss. My (m[imac]) or Mine
(m[imac]n); object. Me (m[=e]). pl. nom. We (w[=e]);
poss. Our (our) or Ours (ourz); object. Us ([u^]s).]
[OE. i, ich, ic, AS. ic; akin to OS. & D. ik, OHG. ih, G.
ich, Icel. ek, Dan. jeg, Sw. jag, Goth. ik, OSlav. az', Russ.
ia, W. i, L. ego, Gr. 'egw`, 'egw`n, Skr. aham. [root]179.
Cf. Egoism.]
The nominative case of the pronoun of the first person; the
word with which a speaker or writer denotes himself.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Personal \Per"son*al\ (p[~e]r"s[u^]n*al), a. [L. personalis: cf.
F. personnel.]
1. Pertaining to human beings as distinct from things.
[1913 Webster]
Every man so termed by way of personal difference.
--Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
2. Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or
affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals;
peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or
general; as, personal comfort; personal desire.
[1913 Webster]
The words are conditional, -- If thou doest well, --
and so personal to Cain. --Locke.
[1913 Webster]
3. Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance;
corporeal; as, personal charms. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
4. Done in person; without the intervention of another.
"Personal communication." --Fabyan.
[1913 Webster]
The immediate and personal speaking of God. --White.
[1913 Webster]
5. Relating to an individual, his character, conduct,
motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive
manner; as, personal reflections or remarks.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Gram.) Denoting person; as, a personal pronoun.
[1913 Webster]
Personal action (Law), a suit or action by which a man
claims a debt or personal duty, or damages in lieu of it;
or wherein he claims satisfaction in damages for an injury
to his person or property, or the specific recovery of
goods or chattels; -- opposed to real action.
Personal equation. (Astron.) See under Equation.
Personal estate or Personal property (Law), movables;
chattels; -- opposed to real estate or real property.
It usually consists of things temporary and movable,
including all subjects of property not of a freehold
nature.
Personal identity (Metaph.), the persistent and continuous
unity of the individual person, which is attested by
consciousness.
Personal pronoun (Gram.), one of the pronouns I, thou,
he, she, it, and their plurals.
Personal representatives (Law), the executors or
administrators of a person deceased.
Personal rights, rights appertaining to the person; as, the
rights of a personal security, personal liberty, and
private property.
Personal tithes. See under Tithe.
Personal verb (Gram.), a verb which is modified or
inflected to correspond with the three persons.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Y- \Y-\, or I- \I-\ . [OE. y-, i-, AS. ge-, akin to D. & G. ge-,
OHG. gi-, ga-, Goth. ga-, and perhaps to Latin con-;
originally meaning, together. Cf. Com-, Aware, Enough,
Handiwork, Ywis.]
A prefix of obscure meaning, originally used with verbs,
adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and pronouns. In the Middle
English period, it was little employed except with verbs,
being chiefly used with past participles, though occasionally
with the infinitive. Ycleped, or yclept, is perhaps the only
word not entirely obsolete which shows this use.
[1913 Webster]
That no wight mighte it see neither yheere. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Neither to ben yburied nor ybrent. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Some examples of Chaucer's use of this prefix are; ibe,
ibeen, icaught, ycome, ydo, idoon, ygo, iproved,
ywrought. It inough, enough, it is combined with an
adjective. Other examples are in the Vocabulary.
[1913 Webster] Spenser and later writers frequently
employed this prefix when affecting an archaic style,
and sometimes used it incorrectly.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
i
adj 1: used of a single unit or thing; not two or more; "`ane'
is Scottish" [syn: one, 1, i, ane]
n 1: a nonmetallic element belonging to the halogens; used
especially in medicine and photography and in dyes; occurs
naturally only in combination in small quantities (as in
sea water or rocks) [syn: iodine, iodin, I, atomic
number 53]
2: the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this
number; "he has the one but will need a two and three to go
with it"; "they had lunch at one" [syn: one, 1, I,
ace, single, unity]
3: the 9th letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: I, i]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
70 Moby Thesaurus words for "I":
I myself, ace, alter, alter ego, alterum, anima, anima humana,
atman, atom, ba, better self, breath, breath of life, buddhi,
divine breath, ego, ethical self, he, heart, her, herself, him,
himself, inner man, inner self, it, jiva, jivatma, khu, manes, me,
mind, monad, my humble self, myself, nephesh, no other, none else,
nothing else, nought beside, number one, one, one and only,
oneself, other self, ourselves, pneuma, psyche, purusha, ruach,
self, shade, shadow, she, soul, spirit, spiritual being, spiritus,
subconscious self, subliminal self, superego, the self, them,
themselves, they, unit, you, yours truly, yourself, yourselves
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
I is the first letter of the alphabet, the first word of the language,
the first thought of the mind, the first object of affection. In
grammar it is a pronoun of the first person and singular number. Its
plural is said to be _We_, but how there can be more than one myself
is doubtless clearer to the grammarians than it is to the author of this
incomparable dictionary. Conception of two myselfs is difficult, but
fine. The frank yet graceful use of "I" distinguishes a good writer
from a bad; the latter carries it with the manner of a thief trying to
cloak his loot.