Link Centre Dictionary

I

UK/aɪ/ US/aɪ/ very common us

noun

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)

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”
3.

the 9th letter of the Roman alphabet

adjective

1.

used of a single unit or thing; not two or more

  • “ane”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English a, hi, hich, hij, I, ic, ich, ichc, ichs, ick, ig, ih, ik, j, jch, y, from Old English ic, ich, ih, ᛁᚳ (ic), ᛁᚴ (ik, “I”), from Proto-West Germanic *ik (“I”), from Proto-Germanic *ek, *eka, *ik (“I”), from Proto-Indo-European *eǵh₂óm (“I”). Cognates Cognate with Scots A, I, Ik (“I”), Yola Ich (“I”), North Frisian ick, ik, 'k (“I”), Saterland Frisian iek (“I”), West Frisian ik (“I”), Alemannic German i, ich, ig (“I”), Bavarian and Mòcheno i (“I”), Central Franconian eich, ich (“I”), Cimbrian i, ich (“I”), Dutch ick, ik, ikke (“I”), Low German eck, ick, ik, öck (“I”), German ich (“I”), Limburgish ich, iich (“I”), Luxembourgish ech (“I”), Vilamovian ych (“I”), West Flemish 'k (“I”), Yiddish איך (ikh), יאַך (yakh, “I”), Danish jeg, jæ (“I”), Elfdalian ig (“I”), Faroese eg, jeg (“I”), Icelandic eg, ég, ek, jeg (“I”), Jutish æ (“I”), Norn eg (“I”), Norwegian Bokmål jeg (“I”), Norwegian Nynorsk eg, æg (“I”), Swedish i, jag (“I”), Crimean Gothic ich (“I”), Gothic 𐌹𐌺 (ik, “I”); also Asturian, Aragonese, and Spanish yo (“I”), Catalan jo (“I”), French je (“I”), Galician and Portuguese eu (“I”), Italian io (“I”), Leonese and Mirandese you (“I”), Latin ego (“I”), Ancient ...

Phrases

  • and I claim my five pounds
  • as I live and breathe
  • as if I care
  • as if I cared
  • can I smoke
  • could I get the bill
  • damned if I know
  • I am inside you

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.