IC

abbr. integrated circuit.

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-ic,

suffix added to nouns to form adjectives.

1. of or having to do with _____: »

Atmospheric = of or having to do with the atmosphere. Icelandic = of Iceland.

2. having the nature of _____: »

Heroic = having the nature of a hero.

3. constituting or being _____: »

Bombastic = constituting or being bombast.

4. containing _____; made up of _____: »

Alcoholic = containing alcohol.

5. made by _____; caused by _____: »

Volcanic = made by a volcano.

6. like _____; like that of _____; characteristic of _____: »

Meteoric = like a meteor.

7. an art or system of thought, as in stoic, logic, music.

8. Chemistry. indicating the presence of an element in a compound or ion that is of a higher valence than indicated by the suffix -ous, as in boric, chloric, ferric, sulfuric.

╂[< French -ique < Latin -icus < Greek -ikós]

Usage Many words ending in -ic have two or more of meanings 1 to 6.

i/c (no periods),

in charge (of): »

officer i/c distribution.

IC (no periods),

1. immediate constituent.

2. integrated circuit: »

An IC is a circuit consisting of up to 20 transistors and diodes on a microscopic chip of silicon (Robert E. Stoffels).

3. internal combustion.

I.C.,

Jesus Christ (Latin, Iesus Christus).

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abbr.

■ integrated circuit

■ intensive care

■ internal combustion

the IC engine

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ic

obs. form of I, pron.