Glossary
Terms starting with I
221 definitions · page 1 of 4.
- I-551 (Green Card)
- Permanent residence card or alien registration receipt card or "green card."
- idee fixe
- (French, "fixed idea") Term used by Berlioz for the theme representing his beloved in every movement of his Symphonie fantastique.
- Identical information
- Exactly the same.
- identity by descent
- The state of two alleles when they are identical copies of the same ancestral allele (autozygous).
- Identity of Interests information
- In civil practice, where one party has the same interest in the litigation as another, the party may be joined in the action, or may be bound by the result.
- Identity Theft
- Identity theft is unlawfully acquiring and using the identification of another person as one's own. For example, one who uses a credit card or credit device by posing to be the owner of the card, and who obtains goods and services thereby, is guilty of…
- IDENTITY THEFT INSURANCE
- Coverage for expenses incurred as the result of an identity theft. Can include costs for notarizing fraud affidavits and certified mail, lost income from time taken off from work to meet with law-enforcement personnel or credit agencies, fees for reapplying…
- idiogram
- A photograph or diagram of the chromosomes of a cell arranged in an orderly fashion. See karyotype.
- idiotypic variation
- Variation unique to an individual immunoglobulin molecule produced by the variable region of immunoglobulin genes.
- idling reaction
- The production of guanosine tetraphosphate (3' ppGpp 5', magic spot) by the stringent factor when a ribosome encounters an uncharged tRNA in the A site.
- IEEE
- (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Organization that ensures that electronic devices produced by different companies can interoperate. IEEE developed the 802 family of standards that govern computer networks.
- igneous rock
- rock formed by the solidification of magma
- IIS
- Microsoft Internet Information Server. Microsoft's Web server that comes built-in with Windows NT Server 4 and Windows 2000 server. Here is Microsoft's IIS web site.
- Ile flottante
- Literally 'floating island', this is one of the great desserts of classic French cuisine. It's a very light meringue floating on a sea of custard sauce. The meringue is made from egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract and usually cream of tartar, and cooked in a…
- ILEV (Inherently Low Emission Vehicle)
- Term used by federal government for any vehicle that is certified to meet the California Air Resources Board's Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards for non-methane organic gases and carbon monoxide, ULEV standards for nitrogen oxides and does not emit any…
- Illegal Entry information
- Un-permitted entry into a structure or dwelling, even when the police come in without a warrant.
- Illegal information
- Not legal, or against the law. An act that will expose one to punishment.
- Illegitimate information
- Contrary to law. A child born outside of marriage, or wedlock, is said to be illegitimate.
- Illicit information
- unlawful, or not permitted.
- illusion bodice
- A bodice made of sheer material giving the illusion of no bodice.
- illusion sleeve
- A sleeve made of sheer material giving the illusion of no sleeve.
- Illusory Promise information
- Contrary to law. An insubstantial promise, not worthy of enforcement, and not a viable consideration for the formation of a contract.
- Image Map
- An image displayed on the webpage that has different areas that are hyperlinks. By clicking on different parts of the image browser can be redirected to another webpage, or can display modified version of the current one.
- Imaging
- The recreation of sound instruments, voices or non-musical elements of a movie soundtrack in a specific location. Imaging is judged to be successful when all of the sounds produced by a single, stationary sound source appear to emanate from a single location.
- imago
- An adult insect.
- Imam bayildi
- A Turkish dish of stuffed aubergines. The name roughly translates as 'the imam (priest) fainted'. According to legend, a certain imam was so moved by the fragrant smell of the dish that he fainted from sheer joy! The stuffing is made with a mixture of…
- IMAP
- Internet Message Access Protocol. A method allowing a client email program to access remote messages stored on a mail server. The protocol includes operations for creating, deleting, and renaming mailboxes, checking for new messages, message parsing…
- IMBALANCE ENERGY
- The real-time change in generation output or demand requested by the ISO to maintain reliability of the ISO-controlled grid. Sources of imbalance energy include regulation, spinning and non-spinning reserves, replacement reserve, and energy from other…
- IMHO
- In My Humble Opinion (or: In My Honest Opinion)
- imitation
- The successive repetition in different voices of a single musical idea.
- IMMEDIATE ANNUITY
- A product purchased with a lump sum, usually at the time retirement begins or afterwards. Payments begin within about a year. Immediate annuities can be either fixed or variable.
- Immediate Relative
- Spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under the age of 21 of an American citizen. A parent is an immediate relative if the American citizen is 21 years of age or older. There are no numerical limits to immigration of immediate relatives.
- Immigrant visa
- A visa for a person who plans to live indefinitely and permanently in the United States.
- Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
- American immigration law. The issuance of all visas is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
- A branch of the Department of Justice that formerly existed and had responsibility for immigration and naturalization. INS has been renamed and became part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003.
- immune system
- The cells and tissues involved in recognizing and attacking foreign substances within the body of an animal.
- immunity
- The ability of an organism to resist infection.
- immunoglobulin (Ig)
- A general term for the kind of globular blood proteins that constitute antibodies. A tetrameric protein composed of two identical light chains and two identical heavy chains. Specific proteins produced by derivatives of B lymphocytes that interact with and…
- immunoglobulin gene
- A gene encoding one of the protein chains (light or heavy) of an immunoglobulin. The germline genes are activated by a special recombination process that joins a number of different gene segments together. In the case of immunoglobulin light chains there are…
- immunohistochemistry
- The use of antibodies or antisera as histological tools for identifying patterns of antigen distribution within a tissue or an organism. An antibody (or mixture of antibodies) that binds to a specific protein or other antigen is tagged with a fluorescent…
- Immunostimulant
- An agent that stimulates either innate or acquired immunity.
- Immunosuppressant
- An agent that acts to suppress the body's natural immune response.
- IMO
- In My Opinion
- Impedance (audio)
- The amount of resistance to current. In loudspeakers, a device with a lower impedance rating puts greater demands on the power amplifier.
- IMPORTS (Electric utility)
- Power capacity or energy obtained by one utility from others under purchase or exchange agreement.
- IMPOUNDMENT
- A body of water confined by a dam, dike, floodgate or other artificial barrier.
- Impression
- a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.
- Impressionism
- A French art movement of the late nineteenth century that rejected Romanticism in favor of fleeting, informal scenes from everyday life. improvisation The spontaneous, on-the-spot creation of music, preserved today largely in jazz but common in Western music…
- in vitro
- In an experimental situation outside the organism. Biological or chemical work done in the test tube (literally in glass) rather than in living systems.
- in vitro mutagenesis
- The production of either random or specific mutations in a piece of cloned DNA. Typically, the DNA will then be reintroduced into a cell or an organism to assess the results of the mutagenesis.
- in vivo
- In a living cell or organism.
- IN-SITU COMBUSTION
- An experimental means of recovering hard-to-get petroleum by burning some of the oil in its natural underground reservoir. Also called FIREFLOODING.
- IN-SITU GASIFICATION
- Converting coal into synthetic gas at the place where the coal is found in nature.
- INA
- Immigration and Nationality Act. American immigration law. The issuance of all visas is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- inbreeding
- The mating of genetically related individuals. Mating between relatives.
- inbreeding coefficient (F)
- The probability of homozygosity by descent (having common ancestors). The probability that a zygote obtains copies of the same ancestral gene from both its parents because they are related. The probability of autozygosity.
- inbreeding depression
- A depression of vigour or yield due to inbreeding.
- INCANDESCENT LAMP
- An electric lamp in which a filament is heated by an electric current until it emits visible light.
- incestuous
- A mating between blood relatives who are more closely related than the law of the land allows.
- inclination
- the angle between a planet’s orbit and the ecliptic plane; or the angle between a satellite’s orbit and its host planet’s rotational plane