noun 1. words inscribed, as on a monument or in a book * the inscription on her headstone. 2. the action of inscribing something * the inscription of memorable utterances on durable materials. II. derivatives 1. inscriptional /inz'kripSH@nl in'skripSH@nl inz'kripSHn@l in'skripSHn@l / adjective 2. inscriptive /-'skriptiv / adjective - origin late Middle English (denoting a short descriptive or dedicatory passage at the beginning of a book): from Latin inscriptio(n-), from the verb inscribere (see inscribe). inscrutable /in'skrood@b(@)l/ I. adjective impossible to understand or interpret * Guy looked blankly inscrutable. II. derivatives 1. inscrutability /in,skrood@'bil@de / noun 2. inscrutably /in'skrood@ble / adverb - origin late Middle English: from ecclesiastical Latin inscrutabilis, from in- 'not' + scrutari 'to search' (see scrutiny). inseam /'in,sem/ noun (N. Amer.) the seam in a pair of pants from the crotch to the bottom of the leg, or the length of this.