interruption

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English interrupcioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin interruptiō (“a breaking off, interruption, interval”),^[5][3][6][4] a noun of action from interruptus, the past participle of interrumpō (“to break apart, break off”).^[3][6][7] The verb is formed from inter (“between”) and rumpō (“to break”),^[3][7] from Proto-Indo-European *runp- (“to break”).^[3] The MED derives the word from Old French,^[2] and Anglo-Norman interrupcion is recorded in Anglo-Norman from about 1292;^[8] the Shorter Oxford allows either source,^[9] while the OED only compares French interruption, recorded in 1437.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A break in continuity, in space or in a series: first recorded in 1390, in Gower's Confessio Amantis,^[5][10] and dated to the late 14th century by Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense "a breaking in upon an action", especially upon someone's speech, is dated to about 1400 by Etymonline^[3] and to 1489, in Caxton, by the OED.^[5] The weaker sense of a temporary pause is dated to the early 15th century by Etymonline^[3] but to 1607 by the OED.^[5] Middle English also used the word in law, for an impediment to ownership or an action to stop someone exercising a right, and for a digression in a text.^[2] The sense "hindrance, obstruction" lasted from 1463 to the early 17th century.^[5][9] In Scots law an interruption is the legal step that stops a period of prescription from running (1615).^[5][9] Johnson (1755) gave the senses "breach of continuity", "intervention" and "hindrance; stop; obstruction".^[11]

Timeline

• 1390 – a break in continuity; a gap.^[5]
• c. 1400 – a breaking in upon an action or speech.^[3] The OED's first record of this sense is from 1489.^[5]
• 1425 – a legal impediment to ownership, in the Rolls of Parliament.^[2]
• 1463 – hindrance, obstruction (obsolete by 1616).^[5]
• 1607 – a temporary stop, an intermission.^[5]
• 1615 – in Scots law, the step that stops a prescription from running.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of interrupting, or the state of being interrupted: She finished her speech without interruption.^[12][4][5]
2. Something that interrupts, such as a remark, a question or a noise: The meeting was full of interruptions from the back of the hall.^[12]
3. A break in continuity in space or order; a gap.^[4][5][9]
4. A temporary stop; an intermission or suspension.^[12][4][5]
5. (Scots law) A legal step that stops a period of prescription from running.^[5][9]
6. (obsolete, 1463–1616) Hindrance or obstruction.^[5][9]

Related words

• interrupt
• rupture
• corrupt
• disrupt
• erupt

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins