"I" Word Origins

interloper

Origin

From inter- plus an old word "loper" ("runner, rover"); originally used for unlicensed traders who broke in on the privileges of chartered trading companies.

interlude

Latin

From Latin inter- ("between") plus ludo ("to play").

intermediary

Medieval Latin

From French intermédiaire, reshaped to look like a borrowing from Medieval Latin.

intermediate

Medieval Latin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediatus, from intermedius, meaning "in the middle."

interment

French

From Old French enterrer, from Latin in- ("in") plus terra ("earth") — literally, putting into the earth.

intermezzo

Origin

Borrowed from Italian intermezzo. Doublet of intermede and intermedium

interminable

Late Latin

From Middle French interminable, from Late Latin interminabilis, built from in- ("not") plus terminable ("able to be ended").

intermit

Origin

From Latin intermittere, from inter- + mittere.

intermittent

Latin

From Latin intermittens, "sending between" — from inter- ("among") plus mittere ("to send").

intermittent fasting

English

From intermittent, ultimately from Latin intermittere 'to leave off, interrupt', plus fasting, from Old English fæstan 'to abstain from food'.

intern

Latin

From French interner, from interne ("inner, internal"), from Latin internus.

internal

New Latin

From New Latin internalis, from Latin internus, meaning "inward, internal."

international

Origin · 1780

From inter- ("between") plus national; the word was introduced into English by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1780.

internet

Origin

A shortened, generalized form of "Internet," originally referring to a network connecting separate networks together.

internist

Origin

From German Internist, corresponding to intern (“internal”) + -ist.

internment

Origin

From intern plus the suffix -ment.

internship

Origin

From intern plus the suffix -ship.

interpersonal

Origin

From inter- ("between") plus personal.

interplanetary

Origin

From inter- ("between") plus planetary.

Interpol

Origin

A shortened form of "International Police."

interpolate

Origin

From Latin interpolātus, perfect passive participle of interpolō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French interpoler.

interpolation

Origin

From French interpolation, from Latin interpolatio. Morphologically interpolate + -ion.

interpose

Origin

From Middle French interposer, influenced by poser (“to place, put”), from Latin interpōnō, from inter (“between”) + pōnō (“to place, put”).

interposition

Origin

From Middle English interposicion, from Old French interposicion, from Latin interpositio.

interpret

Latin

From Old French enterpreter, from Latin interpretari, "to explain or expound," ultimately from an old word for a go-between or broker.

interpretation

Latin

From Latin interpretari, "to explain or translate", from interpres, meaning an agent or go-between.

interpreter

Latin

From Old French interpreteur, from Latin interpretari, "to explain," built on the same root as interpret.

interpunct

Origin

From Latin interpunctus, from inter- (“between, mid-”) + punctus (“point”).

interracial

Origin

Formed from inter- ("between") and racial.

interregnum

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin interrēgnum, from inter- (prefix meaning ‘between’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”)) + rēgnum (“reign; royal power”) (nominalized from the neuter of *rēgnus, from rēx (“king; ruler”, oblique stem rēg-) + -nus (suffix forming adjectives), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)). The plural form interregna is a learned borrowing from Latin interrēgna.

interrobang

Origin

A blend of French (point d')interrogation (“question mark”) or the equivalent term in another Romance language + bang (“exclamation mark, exclamation point”), coined in a 1962 article in the journal TYPEtalks by American advertising executive Martin Kiehra Speckter (1915–1988), who invented the symbol.

interrogate

Latin

From Latin interrogare, "to ask or inquire," from inter- ("between") plus rogare ("to ask").

interrogatee

Origin

From interrogate + -ee.

interrogation

Latin

From Latin interrogatio, from interrogare, "to ask or inquire."

interrogative

Origin

From Late Latin interrogātīvus, equivalent to interrogate + -ive.

interrogator

Latin

From Latin interrogator, "one who questions," built from interrogate plus the agent suffix -or.

interrogatory

Origin

From Late Latin; equivalent to interrogate + -ory (“pertaining to”), or more distantly inter- + rogatory.

interrupt

Latin

From Latin interrumpere, "to break apart," from inter- ("between") plus rumpere ("to break").

interruption

Latin

From Latin interruptio, from interrumpere, "to break apart."

intersect

Latin

From Latin intersecare, "to cut between," from inter- ("between") plus secare ("to cut").

intersection

Latin

From Latin intersectio, from intersecare, "to cut between."

intersectional

Origin

From intersection + -al.

intersex

Origin

Borrowed from German Intersexe. By surface analysis, inter- + sex. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Needs more details, especially the German etymology.”) Doublet of intersect.

intersidereal

Origin

From inter- + sidereal.

interspace

Origin

Borrowed from Latin interspatium. By surface analysis, inter- + space.

interstate

Origin

Formed from inter- ("between") and state; the highway sense comes from "interstate highway."

interstellar

Latin

Formed from inter- ("between") and stellar, from Latin stella, "star."

interval

Latin

From Latin intervallum, literally "space between two palisades," from inter- ("between") plus vallum ("wall" or "rampart").