Etymologically
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intrusive

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪnˈtɹuːsɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English intrusion + -ive in Merriam-Webster's analysis;[2] the OED, Etymonline and Klein take it from Latin intrūsus, the past participle of intrūdō (“to thrust in”), with the suffix -ive.[3][4][5] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“in”) and trūdō (“to thrust, push”), which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *treud- (“to press, push, squeeze”).[4] Klein compares intrude, extrusive, obtrusive and protrusive.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Usurping: the Middle English Dictionary's only quotation, dated 1402, speaks of Antichrist ruling for a short time "by tirantrie intrusyve".[6] Etymonline dates this sense to about 1400,[4] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1375–1425.[7] The OED's record begins only in 1647.[3]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, coming in without invitation or welcome, is recorded from 1647, in M. Hudson's Divine Right of Government;[3][4] Merriam-Webster dates its first sense to the 15th century.[2] In the 19th century the word took on technical senses: in geology, of an igneous rock forced while molten into cavities or cracks in other rocks (Etymonline from 1826, the OED from 1844, in Darwin),[4][3] and in phonetics the intrusive r, an r sound pronounced where the spelling has none, as in the idea(r) of (1847).[3][8] The general sense "thrust in" is recorded from 1862, and a rare sense "thrusting inward" from 1847.[3] The geological noun, an intrusive rock or rock mass, follows in 1895.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 1402 – usurping.[6] Etymonline dates it to about 1400.[4]
  • 1647 – coming in uninvited; characterized by intrusion.[3][4]
  • 1826 – in geology, thrust in out of its regular place.[4] The OED's first record of an igneous rock forced into other rocks is from 1844.[3]
  • 1847 – intrusive r, in phonetics; also, rarely, thrusting inward.[3]
  • 1862 – intruded or thrust in.[3]
  • 1895 – noun, an intrusive rock.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Coming in or encroaching without invitation or welcome; intruding on someone's privacy: an intrusive question about his salary.[8][2][3]
  2. Of a person, given to pushing into places or matters where one is not wanted.[2][3]
  3. (geology) Of an igneous rock, forced while molten into cracks or between layers of other rocks.[8][2][3]
  4. (phonetics) Of a speech sound, inserted for ease of pronunciation rather than for historical or grammatical reasons, as the intrusive r in the idea(r) of it.[8][3]
  5. (rare) Thrusting or projecting inward.[2][3]

Noun

  1. (geology) An intrusive rock or rock mass.[2][3]

Word family

  • intrusively
  • intrusiveness
  • nonintrusive
  • intrusive r

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b 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)
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins