German word meaning 'ice'; also used as an abbreviation for various organizations or technical terms in English contexts.
From Old High German īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, cognate with English 'ice'. In English usage, appears primarily as borrowed German vocabulary or as an acronym (such as Educational Information Service or Environmental Impact Statement). The Germanic root traces back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- meaning 'frost, ice'.
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