Etymologically
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inter

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈtɜː/ (UK); /ɪnˈtɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English interen, enteren, borrowed from Old French enterrer (“to bury”),[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin interrare, to put in the earth, from in (“in”) and terra (“earth”) (see terrain).[2][3][6] MWU notes that the spelling was altered under the influence of Latin in-.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To deposit a corpse in the earth or a grave: 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.[2][7] Etymonline dates it to about 1300.[3]

Semantic evolution

Figurative uses are from 1601, as is to place anything in the ground.[7] Of a tomb, to enclose a corpse, is from 1631.[7] Interment is from the 14th century.[4][2] An obsolete noun inter, interment, is from 1513.[7]

Timeline

  • 1303 – to bury a corpse.[2][7]
  • 1513 – inter, interment (noun).[7]
  • 1601 – figurative use.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To place a dead body in a grave or tomb; to bury.

Word family

  • reinter

Usage notes

The Latin preposition inter, between, among, is used in English in a few phrases such as inter alia, and is unrelated.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press