interference

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɪn.təˈfɪə.rəns/, US /ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈfɪr.əns/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from interfere on the model of words such as difference.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Interfering or meddling: 1783.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In physics, the mutual action of two waves reinforcing or cancelling each other is from 1802, a sense given by the English scientist Thomas Young.^[2][4] Disturbance of telephone, later radio and television, signals is from 1887.^[2] In American football, blocking a tackler is from 1894,^[2][4] and in chess, blocking the line of a piece from 1913.^[2][4] A horse striking one leg with another is from 1888.^[4]

Timeline

• 1783 – meddling.^[2][4]
• 1802 – wave interference.^[2][4]
• 1887 – telephone interference.^[2]
• 1894 – in American football.^[2]
• 1913 – in chess.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of interfering or meddling.
2. (physics) The combining of two or more waves so that they strengthen or cancel each other.
3. Disturbance of radio or television signals.
4. (sport) Illegal obstruction of a player, or (American football) blocking for the ball carrier.

Word family

• interferential
• constructive interference
• destructive interference
• interference drag
• interference microscope
• interference pattern

Related words

• interfere

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 c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster