isinglass 
in making mock pearls, and in stiffening linens, silks, 
gauzes, etc. With brandy it forms a cement for mending 
broken porcelain and glass. It is likewise used as an 
agglutinant to glue together the parts of musical instru- 
ments, and for binding many other delicate fabrics. It is 
used in the manufacture of tine glues and sizes, adhesive 
plasters, court-plasters, diamond cement, and imitation 
glass, in refining wines and liquors, in adulterating milk, 
and in lustering silk ribbons. Grades are known as lyre, 
leaf, and book isinglass. In the East Indies, China, and 
Japan, isinglass, or its equivalent* is prepared from vari- 
ous algse or seaweeds the same in part which furnish 
the material of the bird's-nests prized as a delicacy by 
the Chinese. Such is the origin of the important Bengal 
isinglass or agar-agar. Japanese isinglass is afforded by 
species of Gelidium, and is said to produce a firmer jelly 
than any other gelatin. These various products are used 
not only for food, but in the arts for stiffening, varnishing, 
and gluing. 
2. Mica: so called from its resemblance to 
some forms of the gelatin. Book isinglass, the 
commercial name for the packages into which isinglass 
is folded. Leaf isinglass, a variety of isinglass made by 
cleansing, drying, and scraping the tissues of the stur- 
geon. Long and staple isinglass, the same material as 
leaf isinglass, but twisted into different forms. Ribbon 
isinglass, an inferior variety of 
isinglass. 
isinglass-stone (I'zing- 
glas-stou), n. See mica. 
ising-st art (I ' zing - star), 
H. [Irreg. < ising(lass) + 
star.] A bit of shining 
mica. [Poetical.] 
Some had lain in the scoop of 
the rock, 
With glittering wing-stars in- 
laid. Drake, Culprit Fay. 
Isis (i'sis), n. [L., < Gr. 
'lovf, < Egypt. Hes, a deity, 
the female counterpart of 
Osiris (Hesiri).] In Egypt. 
myth., the chief female 
deity; the sister, wife, and 
counterpart or female form 
of Osiris, and the mother 
ofHorus. She is distinguished 
by the solar disk and cows' horns 
on her head, often surmounted 
by a diminutive throne, and 
bears the lotus scepter. By the 
Greeks she was identified with 
lo. Her worship in a modified 
form, as a nature-goddess, was 
introduced subsequently to the 
Alexandrine epoch into Greece, 
and was very popular at Rome 
from the end of the republic. The Greek and Roman 
priests and priestesses of Isis wore a special costume, and 
had as an attribute a peculiar metallic rattle, the sistrum. 
She [Cleopatra] 
In the habiliments of the goddess Isis 
That day appear'd. Shale., A. and C., ill. 6, 10. 
Islam (is'lam or -lam), n. [= F. Sp. Islam = 
Turk, islam, < Ar. islam, obedience to God, sub- 
mission, the orthodox faith, < salama, be free, 
be safe, be devoted to God. Cf. Moslem, Mus- 
sulman, and salaam, from the same source.] 1. 
The religious system of Mohammed. 
They [All and Hussein] filled a void in the severe reli- 
gion of Mahomet, . . . supplied a tender and pathetic side 
in Islam. 
M. Arnold, Essays in Criticism, A Persian Passion-Play. 
2. The whole Mohammedan world. 
All was hardly dead before he became enshrined in le- 
gend and in myth. . . . Hence the great schism which 
from the first divided the camp of Islam, 
J. Darmesteter, The Mahdi (trans.), p. 23. 
Islamic (is-lam'ik), a. [< Islam + -to.] Be- 
longing or relating to Islam. 
Persians were the leaders and shapers of Islamic cul- 
ture. Contemporary Rev., LIII. 541. 
Islamism (is'lam-izm), n. [= F. Islamisme = 
Sp. Pg. It. Isfamismo; as Islam + -ism.'] The 
faith of Islam ; the true faith, according to the 
Mohammedans; Mohammedanism. 
In these reaches I found Islamism of a purer form, and 
the people more learned in civilized ways. 
H. 0. Forbes, Eastern Archipelago, p. 190. 
Islamite (is'lam-it), n. [< Islam + -ite^.] A 
Mohammedan. 
Thronging all one porch of Paradise, 
A group of Houris bow'd to see 
The dying Islamite. Tennyson, Palace of Art 
Islamitic (is-la-mit'ik), a. [< Islamite + -ic.] 
Pertaining to Islam or the Islamites ; Moham- 
medan. 
Islamize (is'lam-Iz), r. t. ; pret. and pp. Islam- 
ized, ppr. Islamizing. [< Islam + -4ze.~] To 
conform to Islam ; Mohammedanize. 
We find most distinctly-marked African ideas of a Su- 
preme Deity in the West, where intercourse with Moslems 
has actually Islamized or semi-Islamized whole negro na- 
tions, and the name of Allah is in all men's mouths. 
E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, II. 302. 
island 1 (I'land), n. [Prop. Hand, the s having 
been ignorantly inserted in the 16th century, 
ffS^ 
Isis. 
Egyptian Cavo-rilievo. 
3194 
in conformity with isle 1 (which is, however, 
wholly unrelated, and in which the s is also a 
late insertion : see isle 1 ) ; early mod. E. Hand, 
ylond (also occasionally ylelond, etc.), < ME. 
'iliind, yland, ylond, < AS. igland, iglond, Hand, 
egland, eglond, eigland, "iegland (also edland: 
see below) (= OFries. dlond, eiland, East Fries. 
eiland = MD. eyland, eylland, eiland = MLG. 
eilant, elant, olant, einlant, ciglant, LG. eiland = 
MHG. eilant, einlant, G. eiland: the MHG. G. 
being prob. < LG.) = Icel. eyland = Norw. de- 
land = Dan. oland (= Sw. Gland, Oland), an 
island, < ig, eg, eig, *ieg, an island (OLG. ey = 
Fries, ooge, an island, = OHG. awa, auuja, ouwa, 
owa, MHG. ouwe, owe, G. aue, a meadow near 
water, = Icel. ey = Dan. Sw. o, an island), a 
word existing unrecognized in mod. E. as an 
element in local names, as in Angles-ea, An- 
gles-ey, Aldern-ey, Satters-ea, Chels-ea, Cherts-ey, 
Orlcn-ey, Tliorn-ey, Whitn-ey, etc. (and in Scand. 
names, Faroe (Faro), Oland, Thurso, etc.), as 
well as in the derived eyot, ait, an island (see 
ait) ; prob. orig. an adj., 'belonging to water,' 
'in water,' < ed (*eahw-) = OHG. aha = Goth. 
ahwa = L. aqua, water (see aqua and ewe 2 ), + 
land, land: see land 1 . The superfluous second 
element land was appar. added when the word 
ig was passing out of use ; the var. edland (as if 
< ed, water, -f- land, land) was an explanatory 
sophistication of the proper compound igland. 
Other sophistications of the word appear in 
the confusion with isle (early mod. E. ylelond, 
as if < He 1 (isle 1 ) + land 1 ), and in the MLG. 
MHG. form einlant, as if the 'land alone' (< 
ein, = E. one, + lant = E. tawfJ 1 ).] 1. A tract 
of land surrounded by water, whether of the 
sea, a river, or a lake : in contradistinction to 
mainland or continent. 
And than we sayled by Alango, Nio, with many mo yle- 
londes that belonge vnto the Roodes. 
Sir S. Guylford, Pylgrymage, p. fid. 
My sovereign, with the loving citizens, 
Like to his island girt in with the ocean, . . . 
Shall rest in London. Shak. , 8 Hen. VI., iv. 8, 20. 
2. Something resembling an island: as, an is- 
land of floating ice. 
The shapely knoll, 
That softly swell'd and gaily dress'd appears 
A flowery island, from the dark green lawn 
Emerging. Camper, Task, iii. 630. 
3. A hill rising out of low ground or swampy 
land, a small clump of woodland in a prairie, or 
the like. [Southern and southwestern U. S.] 
At the summit of the hill is a beautiful grove, or island 
of timber, where the heroes that fell at the battle of San 
.Tacinto sleep their last sleep. 
A Stray Yankee in Texas, p. 252. 
Coral island. See coral. Floating island, (a) An is- 
land formed in a lake or other inland water, when of natu- 
ral origin, by the aggregation of a mass of earth held to- 
gether by driftwood and interlacing roots. Sometimes 
such islands are large enough to serve for gardens or pas- 
ture-grounds. Artificial floating islands have been formed 
by depositing lake- or river-mud on rafts of wickerwork 
covered with reeds. Both natural and artificial floating 
islands were used for market-gardens by the ancient Mexi- 
cans ; and artificial ones, secured to the banks of rivers 
and lakes, abound in southern China, where they are most 
commonly used for raising rice. (6) A meringue of white 
of egg and sugar floating in divisions upon soft custard. 
Island Of Reil, in anat., a triangular cluster of cerebral 
convolutions (the gyri operti, or hidden gyri) situated in 
the Sylvian fissure, immediately out from the lenticular 
nucleus. See insula, and cut under gyms. Islands Of 
the Blessed, or the Happy Islands, in Or. myth., imagi- 
nary islands said to lie in the remote western part of the 
ocean, whither after death the souls of the virtuous were 
supposed to be transported. 
island 1 (l'land),fl.t. [< island 1 , .] 1. To cause 
to become or appear like an island ; insulate. 
[Chiefly used in the past participle.] 
She distinguished ... a belt of trees, such as we see in 
the lovely parks of England, but islanded by a screen . . . 
of a thick bushy undergrowth. De Quincey, Spanish Nun. 
On a winter morning, when the mists are lying white 
and low and thin upon the plain, when distant hills rise 
islanded into the air, and the outlines of lakes are just 
discernible through fleecy haze. 
J. A. Symonds, Italy and Greece, p. 112, note. 
2. To dot as with islands. [Rare.] 
A fair expanse 
Of level pasture, islanded with groves, 
And banked with woody risings. 
Wordsmorth, Prelude, viii. 
Not a cloud by day 
With purple islanded the dark-blue deep. Southey. 
Island 2 t, Island dogt. See Iceland, Iceland 
dog. 
islander 1 (i'lan-der), n. [= D. Hlander = G. ei- 
liinder; as island 1 + -erf.] An inhabitant of 
an island. 
That pale, that white-faced shore, 
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides 
And coops from other lands her islanders. 
Shak,, K. John, ii. 1, 25. 
-ism 
Islander 2 !, An obsolete form of Icelander. 
Islandict, " and i. An obsolete form of Ice- 
landic. 
islandisht (i'lan-dish), a. [< island! + -tsft 1 .] 
Insular. Davies. 
Our Islandish Monarchy. 
Dr. Dee (Arber's Eng. Garner, II. 65). 
islandyt (I'lan-di), o. [< island 1 + -y 1 .'] Per- 
taining to islands ; full of islands. Cotgrave. 
islay (is'la), 11. A small evergreen tree, Primus 
ilicifolia, a native of the California coast-ranges 
from San Francisco bay south. 
isle 1 (II), n. [Early mod. E. also He, yle; < ME. 
reg. He, yle, also ille, ylle, ilde, ydle, rarely isle, < 
OF. reg. He (later isl, the silent * being inserted, 
as also in later ME., in imitation of the Latin 
insula), or of the earliest form isle (the * being at 
the earliest OF. period actually pronounced), 
F. ile = Pr. isla, ilia, ilha = Sp. isla = Pg. Una 
= It. isola, < L. insula, an island; supposed to 
be < in, in, + salum, the main sea, = Gr. <ra/u>c, 
surge, swell of the sea. The word has no con- 
nection with island 1 , with which it has been con- 
fused.] 1. An island. [Now chiefly poetical.] 
After hym com Galehaut, the sone of the feire Geaunt 
that was lorde of the fer oute ylles, and brought in his 
company x* 1 men. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 577. 
Summer isles of Eden lying in dark-purple spheres of sea. 
Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 
2. In eniom., same as islet, 2 Emerald Isle. 
See emerald. 
isle 1 (il), v.: pret. and pp. islcd, ppr. isling. [< 
isle 1 , .] I. trans. To cause to become or ap- 
pear like an isle; insulate; island. [Poetical.] 
Jsled in sudden seas of light, 
My heart, pierced thro' with fierce delight, 
Bursts into blossom in his sight. Tennyson, Fatima. 
II. intrans. To dwell on an isle. Davies. 
Lion and stoat have isled together, knave, 
In time of flood. Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. 
isle 2 t, . An old spelling of aisle. 
isle s t, [Also (Sc.) aizle; < ME. isyl, < AS. 
ysla, ysela, coals, ashes.] A hot coal ; an ember : 
usually in the plural. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch. ] 
Isyl of fyre, favilla. Prompt. Pare., p. 266. 
Ich hane syneged and gabbe me suluen theroffe and pine 
me seluen on asshen and on iselen. 
Old Eng. Homilies (ed. Morris), ii. 65. 
islesman (Ilz'man), n. ; pi. isksmen (-men). An 
islander; specifically [cop.], an inhabitant of 
the Hebrides or Western Islands of Scotland. 
The Isles-men carried at their backs 
The ancient Danish battle-axe. 
Scott, Marmion, v. 5. 
Isles of Shoals duck. See duck 2 . 
islet (I'let), n. [< OF. islet, Met, m., islete, is- 
lette, illette, f., = Sp. isleta = It. isoletta, f., < 
ML. insuletum, n., dim. of L. insula, an island: 
see isle 1 and -et] 1. A little isle or island. 
Where islets have been formed on the reef, that part 
which I have called the "flat," and which is partly dry at 
low water, appears similar in every atoll. 
Dancin, Coral Reefs, p. 33. 
The cressy islets white in flower. Tennyson, Geraint. 
2. Any small spot or space surrounded by 
something of different character or color: as, 
an islet of verdure in a desert ; the islets on an 
insect's wing. 
A but less vivid hue 
Than of that islet in the chestnut-bloom 
Klamed in his cheek. Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
ism (izm), n. [< -ism, this suffix being com- 
monly used in words expressing doctrine, theo- 
ry, or practice.] A doctrine, theory, system, 
or practice having a distinctive character or 
relation: chiefly used in disparagement: as, 
this is the age of isms; to set up an ism. 
It has nothing to do with Calvinism nor Arminianism 
nor any of the other isms. Southey, Letters (1809), II. 182. 
This is Abbot Samson's Catholicism of the twelfth cen- 
tury something like the ism of all true men in all true 
centuries, I fancy. Alas, compared with any of the Isms 
current in these poor days, what a thing ! 
Carlyle, Past and Present, ii. 15. 
That land [New England] in which every ion of social 
or religious life has had its origin that land whose hills 
and valleys are one blaze and buzz of material and manu- 
facturing production. H. B. Stmre, Oldtown, p. 458. 
-ism. [= F. -isme = Sp. Pg. It. -ismo = D. G. 
-ismtis = Dan. -isme = Sw. -few, < L. -ismus, < Gr. 
-io/i6f , term, of nouns signifying the practice or 
teaching of a thing, from verbs in -i&iv, being < 
-<f- + -ftof, a common noun-formative : see -fee.] 
A suffix implying the practice, system, doctrine, 
theory, principle, or abstract idea of that which 
is signified or implied by the word to which it is 
subjoined: tts,dogiatisni,si>iritiialisi,so<-i(iliKiH, 
Atticism, Americanism, Gallicism, terrorism, van- 
dalism, repi<l>lic(inii<i. .l/m'/Hrvi, being espe- 
cially common in nouns so formed from names 
