ISLAND OF ICE. A name given to a great quantity of ice collected into one solid mass and floating upon the sea; they are often met with on the coasts of Spitzbergen, to the great danger of the shipping employed in the Greenland fishery.
ISLE. A colloquial abbreviation of island.
ISLE OF WIGHT PARSON. A cormorant.
ISLET, or Islot. Smaller than an island, yet larger than a key; an insular spot about a couple of miles in circuit.
ISOSCELES. A triangle with only two of its sides equal.
ISSUE. The act of dispensing slops, tobacco, beds, &c., to the ship's company; a distribution.
ISSUE-BOOK. That which contains the record of issues to the crew, and the charges made against them.
ISTHMUS. A narrow neck of land which joins a peninsula to its continent, or two islands together, or two peninsulas, without reference to size. The Isthmus of Suez alone prevents Africa from being an island, as that of Darien connects the two Americas.
IURRAM. A Gaelic word signifying a boat-song, intended to regulate the strokes of the oars. Also, a song sung during any kind of work.
IVIGAR. A name in our northern isles for the sea-urchin, Echinus marinus.