Iron, ī′urn, n. the most common and useful of the metals: an instrument or utensil made of iron, as a hand-harpoon, &c.: a golf-club with an iron head, more set back than the cleek: strength: (pl.) fetters: chains.—adj. formed of iron: resembling iron: rude: stern: fast-binding: not to be broken: robust: dull of understanding.—v.t. to smooth with a smoothing-iron: to arm with iron: to fetter.—adjs. I′ron-bound, bound with iron: rugged, as a coast; I′ron-cased; I′ronclad, clad in iron: covered or protected with iron.—n. a vessel defended by iron plates.—ns. I′ron-clay, a yellowish clay containing a large quantity of iron ore; I′roner, one who irons; I′ron-flint, ferruginous quartz; I′ron-found′er, one who founds or makes castings in iron; I′ron-found′ry, a place where iron is founded or cast.—adj. I′ron-gray, of a gray colour, like that of iron freshly cut or broken.—n. this colour.—adjs. I′ron-hand′ed, having hands hard as iron; I′ron-heart′ed, having a heart hard as iron: cruel.—ns. I′ron-heat′er, the piece of metal heated in the fire for a laundress's box-iron; I′roning, the act of smoothing with hot irons; I′roning-board, a smooth board covered with cloth, on which clothes are laid for ironing; I′roning-machine′, a machine for hotpressing cloth, hats, &c.; I′ron-liq′uor, iron acetate, a dyers' mordant; I′ronmaster, a master or proprietor of ironworks; I′ronmonger, a dealer in articles made of iron; I′ronmongery, a general name for articles made of iron: hardware; I′ron-mould, the spot left on wet cloth after touching rusty iron; I′ron-sand, sand containing particles of iron ore: steel filings used in fireworks.—adj. I′ron-sick (naut.), having the iron bolts and spikes much corroded.—n. I′ronside, a man of iron resolution: (pl.) a name given to Cromwell's irresistible horse.—adj. I′ron-sid′ed, having a side of, or as hard as, iron: rough: hardy.—ns. I′ronsmith, a worker in iron; I′ron-stone, a term usually applied to any ore yielding iron; I′ronware, wares or goods of iron.—adj. I′ron-wit′ted (Shak.), unfeeling, insensible.—n. I′ronwood, applied to the timber of various trees on account of their hardness.—adj. I′ron-word′ed (Tenn.), in words as strong as iron.—n. I′ronwork, the parts of a building, &c., made of iron: anything of iron: a furnace where iron is smelted, or a foundry, &c., where it is made into heavy work.—adj. I′rony, made, consisting, or partaking of iron: like iron: hard.—ns. Cast′-ī′ron, a compound of iron and carbon, obtained directly from iron ore by smelting; Ital′ian-ī′ron, an instrument for fluting linen or lace.—Iron age, an archæological term indicating the condition as to civilisation and culture of a people using iron as the material for their cutting tools and weapons: a period of cruel tyranny; Iron bark tree, a name given in Australia to certain species of Eucalyptus (q.v.); Iron crown, the ancient crown of Lombardy, so named from a thin band of iron said to be made from one of the nails of the Cross; Iron entered into his soul, the bitterest pang of grief has touched his heart.—Bessemer iron, pig-iron suitable for making Bessemer steel.—Have too many irons in the fire, to be trying to do too many things at once; In irons, having fetters on; Rule with a rod of iron, to rule with stern severity. [A.S. iren; Ger. eisen.]
Irony, ī′run-i, n. a mode of speech which enables the speaker to convey his meaning with greater force by means of a contrast between the thought which he evidently designs to express and that which his words properly signify: satire.—adj. Iron′ical, meaning the opposite of what is expressed: satirical.—adv. Iron′ically.—The irony of fate, the perverse malignity of fate. [Fr.,—L. ironia, Gr. eirōneia, dissimulation—eirōn, a dissembler—eirein, to talk.]
Irradiate, ir-rā′di-āt, v.t. to dart rays of light upon or into: to adorn with lustre: to decorate with shining ornaments: to animate with light or heat: to illuminate the understanding.—v.i. to emit rays: to shine.—adj. adorned with rays of light or with lustre.—ns. Irrā′diance, Irrā′diancy, the throwing of rays of light on (any object): that which irradiates or is irradiated: beams of light emitted: splendour.—adj. Irrā′diant, irradiating or shedding beams of light.—n. Irradiā′tion, act of irradiating or emitting beams of light: that which is irradiated: brightness: intellectual light.—adj. Irrā′diātive.
Irradicate, i-rad′i-kāt, v.t. to fix firmly.
Irrational, ir-rash′un-al, adj. void of reason or understanding: absurd.—n. Irrational′ity.—adv. Irra′tionally.—Irrational numbers, a term applied to those roots of numbers which cannot be accurately expressed by a finite number of figures—e.g. √2 is an irrational number.
Irrealisable, ir-rē′a-lī-za-bl, adj. not realisable.
Irrebuttable, ir-re-but′a-bl, adj. not to be rebutted.
Irreceptive, ir-re-sep′tiv, adj. not receptive.
Irreciprocal, ir-re-sip′ro-kal, adj. not reciprocal.
Irreclaimable, ir-re-klām′a-bl, adj. that cannot be reclaimed or reformed: incorrigible.—n. Irreclaim′ableness.—adv. Irreclaim′ably.