interference
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 05:16. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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
- The act of interfering or meddling.
- (physics) The combining of two or more waves so that they strengthen or cancel each other.
- Disturbance of radio or television signals.
- (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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster