Etymologically
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interior

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɪnˈtɪə.ri.ə/, US /ɪnˈtɪr.i.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French intérieur,[2][3] and directly from Latin interior (“inner, middle”),[4][2][5] a comparative adjective of inter “within”,[4][2][6] from Proto-Indo-European *enter (“between, among”), a comparative of the root *en “in”.[4] It is the opposite of exterior,[2][4] and related to internal and inter-.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated within, inner: 1490 in the OED and Barnhart, in Caxton's translation of the Eneydos,[7][2] the late 15th century in Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

Of the mind or soul, spiritual, is from 1513.[7] Internal or domestic, as opposed to foreign, is from 1768,[7] and away from the coast, inland, from 1777.[4][7] As a noun, the inland part of a country is from 1796, in Burke,[2][4] the inside of anything from 1828,[2][4] and the internal affairs of a state from 1826, as in the American Department of the Interior.[4] A stage set representing a room is by 1829,[4] and a picture of the inside of a building by 1858.[4] Interior decoration is attested by 1769, interior decorator from 1830, and interior design from 1927.[4]

Timeline

  • 1490 – inner.[7][2]
  • 1513 – mental or spiritual.[7]
  • 1768 – domestic.[7]
  • 1769 – interior decoration.[4]
  • 1777 – inland.[4][7]
  • 1796 – noun, the inland part.[2][4]
  • 1826 – internal affairs.[4]
  • 1828 – noun, the inside.[2][4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Situated on or relating to the inside; inner.
  2. Of the mind or spirit.
  3. Inland, away from the coast or border.
  4. Domestic rather than foreign.

Noun

  1. The inside of something, especially of a building or room.
  2. The inland part of a country or region.
  3. The domestic affairs of a country: Minister of the Interior.
  4. A picture or film set showing the inside of a building.

Word family

  • interiority
  • interiorly
  • interiorize
  • interior decoration
  • interior angle
  • interior design
  • interior designer
  • interior monologue

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ 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