Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɪn.ə/, US /ˈɪn.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English inner, inre,[2] inherited from Old English innera, inra,[3][2] the comparative of inne “inside”,[4][3] from in.[4][5] Old High German innaro (German innere) and Old Norse innri are similar formations.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated further in, of position in space: about 1000 in the OED.[6] Etymonline dates it from about 1400.[4]

Semantic evolution

The original order of comparison was in, inner, inmost, but inner has not been used with “than” since Middle English.[4] The figurative senses, more intimate, central or secret, are from 1480.[6] Inner man, the soul, is late Old English, and the spiritual side of a person by the late 14th century.[4] The Quaker inner light is from 1833 in Etymonline, 1856 in the OED.[4][6] An inner city is attested from the 1690s, and as a euphemism for urban poverty and crime from 1963.[4] The inner tube of a tyre is from 1894.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – further inside.[6]
  • 1480 – more intimate, more central.[6]
  • 1690s – inner city.[4]
  • 1833 – inner light.[4]
  • 1894 – inner tube.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Further inside or closer to the centre.
  2. Relating to the mind or spirit.
  3. Less obvious; deeper: the inner meaning.
  4. More private, exclusive or powerful: the inner circle.

Word family

  • innerly
  • innerness
  • inner-directed
  • innersole
  • innerspring
  • innerwear
  • inner automorphism
  • inner bar
  • in
  • inmost
  • innermost
  • utter

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press