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deinter

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word deinter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
after 220 AD, Itala
Ultimate origin
Proto-Italic *dē,*n̥ter
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin de
French de
Italian da
Italian di
Italian dove
Latin deinter
From the same root
Latin deante ← de
Latin deforis ← de
Latin deintro ← de
Latin deintus ← de
Latin denuo ← de
Latin deretro ← de
Latin desubtus ← de
Latin desuper ← de
Latin desursum ← de
French davantage ← de
French debout ← de
French devant ← de
Italian dappertutto ← da
Italian davvero ← da

Forms

deinter (preposition with the accusative, in medieval texts also with the ablative; also written de inter)[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē (“from”) + inter (“between”),[4][2][1] a Late Latin formation.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Old Latin Bible (Itala), in the Lyon text of Numbers: the voice spoke to Moses from above the mercy seat “deinter duo Cherubin”, “between the two cherubim”, where the Vulgate has plain inter.[4][6][2]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant the same as inter, “between, among”.[4][6][7] The Pactus Legis Salicae and the Alamannic laws use it,[4][2][1] and their manuscripts waver between deinter, inter, deintra and de intro.[1]

Medieval Latin often gave it a sense of separation, “from between, out from among”,[1][5][8] and used it with the ablative as well as the accusative.[1] British charters use it of land lying between two places and of a plea between two parties.[5]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it in Numbers.[4][2]
  • 5th century AD? – A prayer attributed to Cyprian says God heard Susanna “deinter manus seniorum”, from between the hands of the elders.[4][6][2]
  • 507–511? – The Pactus Legis Salicae uses it.[4][2]
  • 1121 – An English record speaks of a plea between the bishop of Lincoln and the abbot of St Augustine's.[5]
  • c. 1204 – An English charter uses it of a boundary between two places.[5]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. (Late Latin) Between, among (the same as inter), with the accusative.[4][6][3][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Between parties to a dispute.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) From between, out from among.[1][5][8]

Adverb

  1. (Medieval Latin) Inside.[5]

Usage notes

Du Cange quotes the Life of Saint Malachy by Bernard of Clairvaux, where a toad is seen crawling out “deinter femora mulieris”, from between the woman's thighs.[9][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  9. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
Cite this entry

“Deinter.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/deinter. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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