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This glossary contains definitions for words used throughout the website.  If you have a suggestion of a word that should be included here, please e-mail me at tim@mr-anderson.com.



Browse the glossary using this index

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I

i.e.

:
Id est (Latin), meaning "that is."

iamb

:
a two-syllable foot with the stress on the second syllable. The English language is naturally iambic, and Shakespeare used iambs for the speeches of good and noble figures.

iambic pentameter

:
five iambs to a line of ten syllables. Sonnets, rime royal, and heroic couplets all use iambic pentameter.

idiom

:
A combination of words that is not strictly in accordance with grammatical rules and often possesses a meaning other than its grammatical or logical one (e.g., an easy test might be described as a piece of cake).

imagery

:

Words and phrases that appeal to the readers' senses.

implicit

:
To be assumed but not directly expressed.

inference

:
A general conclusion drawn from information that is given.

inferential question

:
A question that asks a responder to draw a conclusion.

infinitive

:

A verb that is usually introduced by to. The infinitive may be used as a noun or a modifier.

inflection

:
The process or result of changing the form of a word to express a syntactic function without changing the word's grammatical class, as run to ran or runs.

informational documents

:
Works of nonfiction such as transcripts, reports or journals.

internal rhyme

:
rhymes inside the lines, or a word inside a line that rhymes with a word at the end of a line

interrogative sentence

:
A sentence that asks a question or makes an inquiry.

intonation

:
The rise and fall of a voice pitch.

irony

:
The recognition of the difference between reality and appearance; includes situational irony in which there is a contrast between what is intended or expected and what actually occurs; verbal irony in which there is a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant; and dramatic irony in which words or actions are understood by the audience but not by characters.

irregular

:
An exception to a linguistic pattern or rule, as good, better, best are exceptions to the usual -er, -est pattern of comparatives and superlatives in English.

Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet

:
a fourteen-line poem of an octave and a sestet. Abba abba cde cde