ident

I1D2E1N1T1
/ˈaɪdənt//ˈaɪdɛnt/

adjective

Diligent; persistent.

OriginMiddle English ithen ← Old Norse iðinn →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

ident1

adjectiveident (comparative more ident, superlative most ident)

comparative more ident · superlative most ident · alternative eident

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandNow chiefly dialectalDiligent; persistent.

ident2

nounident (plural idents)

plural idents

  1. An identification.

    Well, that's the priority. Get the ident.

    2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 37
  2. broadcastingA brief audio or audiovisual sequence serving to identify the broadcaster.

    In 1999 Chaudoir and fellow BBC designer Tim Platt were given the task of rebranding the existing BBC2 idents.

    2002, Jane Austin, Graphic Originals
  3. InternetA protocol serving to identify the user of a particular TCP connection, used especially on IRC networks.

    […] the intruder installed an IRC bot and French ident daemon to reply to IRC servers with a name other than root.

    2004, Eoghan Casey, Digital Evidence and Computer Crime
  4. An identifier.

ident3

verbident (third-person singular simple present idents, present participle identing, simple past and past participle idented)

present singular third person idents · participle present identing · participle past idented · past idented

  1. intransitiveaeronauticsTo activate the aircraft transponder identification feature.

Origin

ident · adjective

  1. Old Norseiðinn“assiduous, diligent”
  2. Middle Englishithen
  3. Englishident

From a later form of ithand, itself an alteration (due to assimilation to suffix -and) of Middle English ithen, from Old Norse iðinn (“assiduous, diligent”), from iðja, iðna (“to do, perform”), from ið (“a restless motion”), equivalent to ithe + -and and/or ithe + -en. Cognate with Icelandic iðinn (“diligent”), Norwegian idig (“busy”), Danish id (“pursuit, calling, business”). More at ithand.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

ident · noun

A shortened form of identification.

Full word history & related roots →

ident · verb

A shortened form of identify.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic فَاصِل
  • فَاصِل (fāṣil)broadcasting identifying sequence
Chinese Mandarin 臺呼 /台呼
  • 臺呼 /台呼 (táihū)broadcasting identifying sequence
French identifiant visuel, jingle
  • identifiant visuelbroadcasting identifying sequence
  • jinglebroadcasting identifying sequence
German Ident
  • Identbroadcasting identifying sequence
Italian ident, immagine d'antenna
  • identbroadcasting identifying sequence
  • immagine d'antennabroadcasting identifying sequence
Spanish cortinilla
  • cortinillabroadcasting identifying sequence

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

tineddetinteind
Cite this entry
APA

ident. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ident

MLA

“ident.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ident. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ident,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ident.

Source: ident on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.