Word origins

• intercalantAny molecule that intercalates, or is inserted, between two others
• intercedentInterceding: Passing between; mediating
• intercommunalityA grouping of communes or municipalities that share some services.
• interduceAn intertie.
• interliaisonMutual liaison between multiple entities.
• interlocutriceA female interlocutor
• intermedeA short musical dramatic piece, of a light, pleasing, and sometimes burlesque character.
• interreignAn interregnum.
• interventiveServing to intervene or interpose; intervening.
• interversionThe swapping of positions within a sequence; transposition or permutation.
• in the final analysisAll things considered; when all is said and done; in conclusion, basically and fundamentally.
• intituleTo entitle; to give a title to.
• intricationEntanglement or intricacy
• intriganteA female intriguer.
• involucreConspicuous bract, bract pair or ring of bracts at the base of an inflorescence.
• irisedHaving irises of a specified colour or kind.
• IroqueseSynonym of Iroquois
• irreflectionLack of reflection or consideration.
• irrespirableNot respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.
• IsèreA department of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
• Isle aux MortsA town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
• islets of LangerhansDistinctive regions of tissue in the pancreas, which contain its endocrine cells.
• isochimenalisocheimal
• isothereAn isotherm connecting points on a map with equal mean summer temperature.
• Issoire lynxan extinct lynx, of species †Lynx issiodorensis, that inhabited Europe during the Pleistocene epoch.
• it goes without sayingIt is understood without being said (but will be or was said anyway).
• I think, therefore I amI am able to think, therefore I exist; a proof of existence based on the fact that someone capable of any form of thought necessarily exists.
• itineranceThe (often chaotic) movement of electrons through a material
• it is to laughIt is absurd or laughable.
• IvoirianIvorian
• ivory towerA sheltered, overly-academic existence or perspective, implying a disconnection or lack of awareness of reality or practical considerations.
• Ivry-sur-SeineA commune in Val-de-Marne department, Île-de-France, France.
• jab jabA person dressed up as a devil-like character, in Caribbean carnivals, who carries a whip used for hitting other devils.
• j'accuseAn accusation, especially one made publicly.
• jacobineSynonym of Jacobin, especially as a feminine form.
• JacobinismThe principles of the Jacobins; especially the violent opposition to legitimate government.
• jacquerieA revolt organized by peasants, typically violent.
• jactanceBoasting; bragging; showing off.
• j'adoubeSpoken by a player before adjusting a piece on the chessboard, to indicate that one is not making a move in the game.
• jamais vuA sense of unfamiliarity with, or of never having experienced or seen before, something that should be familiar.
• JanvrinA surname from French.
• japonaiserieArt objects made in the Japanese style.
• JaponismAn influence of Japanese art and culture on European art and design.
• japonismeAn influence of Japanese art and culture on European art and design.
• jardinièreAn ornamental pot for the display of live or cut flowers; a planter; a plantstand or flowerpot, especially one made of decorated pottery or porcelain.
• jargonelleA variety of pear.
• jargoonA variety of zircon.
• JarnacA town in Charente department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
• jaspéVeined or clouded like imitation jasper.
• JaudonA surname from French.
• javanaisA type of slang used in the French language, where an extra syllable -av- or -va is placed inside a word as an infix.
• javelA vagabond.
• Javel watersodium hypochlorite, the earliest chemical bleach.
• JayroeA surname from French.
• Jean-PierreA surname from French.
• JeanpierreA surname from French.
• JeholFormer name of Chengde.
• JenerouxA surname from French
• je ne sais quoiAn indefinable quality that makes something distinctive or attractive.
• jequirityAbrus precatorius, a legume native to Indonesia with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves, whose toxic seeds ("jequirity beans") may be used as beads or in percussion instruments.
• jeremiadA long speech or prose work that bitterly laments the state of society and its morals, and often contains a prophecy of its coming downfall.
• jet d'eauA stream of water spouting from a fountain or pipe (especially from one arranged to throw water upward), used as an ornament in a garden or public place.
• jeteA leap from one foot to the other in which one leg appears to be "thrown" in the direction of the movement.
• jeu de paumeA precursor of lawn tennis, originally played by hitting the ball with the palm of the hand instead of with a racquet.
• jeu d'espritA witticism; a witty comment or composition.
• jeu de taquinA construction that defines an equivalence relation on the set of skew standard Young tableaux.
• jeune premieractor who plays young hero/lover roles
• jeunesse doréeYoung people who are dazzlingly rich, elegant, etc.; the youthful part of fashionable society.
• Joan of ArcA brave, visionary, or martial woman.
• jocondeA Mona Lisa.
• JodoigneA city in Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium
• JoffrionA surname from French.
• joie de vivreEnjoyment of living; happiness, ebullience, zest for life.
• JoignyA town in Yonne department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
• jongleurAn itinerant entertainer in medieval England and France; roles included song, music, acrobatics etc.; a troubadour.
• JonquièreA former city in Quebec, Canada.
• JouanA surname from French.
• jour fixeA series of presentations and/or performances, discussions or similar events that happen on a fixed day every month (or similar; for example, every second Sunday of a month). Used mainly by cultural and artistic organizations.
• JousseaumeA surname from French.
• Jouy-en-JosasA city in Yvelines department, France.
• jovialityThe state of being jovial; jollity or conviviality.
• joy girlA female prostitute.
• jubarbThe houseleek.
• jubéSynonym of rood screen.
• judicial officerA public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law.
• JuliardA surname from French.
• jumartThe fabled offspring of a bull and a mare.
• jumelleTwin; paired; said of various objects made or formed in pairs, such as a binocular opera glass, a pair of gimmal rings, etc.
• jupetteA jupon with a very short skirt.
• jusquaboutistAn extremist; a hardliner.
• jusqu'auboutistOne who believes in following something through to the very end.
• justacorpsA knee-length coat worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• juste-au-corpsA tight, knee-length men's coat worn in the late 17th and early 18th century.
• justificatorOne who justifies or vindicates.
• kaletezA type of thin buckwheat pancake in Breton cuisine.
• kamagraphyA process for making copies of paintings that are painted on a pretreated canvas using a special press, which reproduces the texture of the brushstrokes as well as the colour, but destroys the original in the process.
• kamichiA South American bird with a long, slender, horn-like ornament on its head and two sharp spurs on each wing, the horned screamer, Anhima cornuta.
• KasserineA city in Tunisia.
• KerfournA village in Morbihan department, Brittany, France.
• kermesAny of several insects of the genus Kermes.