interim

Forms

interim (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from inter “between” and im, an old accusative of the pronoun is (compare inde): “between that”.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of inter, which continues Proto-Indo-European *h₁enter (“between”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^[6][7] who has hoc pōnam interim, “I'll put this down for the moment”, and tū hīc ante aedēs interim speculāre, “meanwhile you keep watch here before the house”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Interim is “meanwhile, in the meantime”, and “for the time being, for now”; with a concessive or adversative force (cum interim) it means “all the while”.^[2][3] From the elder Seneca on it also means “from time to time” and “in some cases, sometimes”.^[2][1] Döderlein says intereā refers to something lasting a while, interim to something momentary, “in the midst of this”.^[8]

In Medieval Latin it means “for the time being, provisionally”, and as a conjunction “until”.^[9] English interim is recorded from the 1560s.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: hoc pōnam interim.^[2][7]
• 190–159 BC – Terence: interim dum ante ōstium stō, “meanwhile, while I stand at the door”.^[3][7]
• 1560s – English interim.^[5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. meanwhile, in the meantime.^{[2][3][1][10]}
2. For the time being, for the present.^[2][10][9]
3. All the while, at the same time.^[2]
4. From time to time; sometimes.^[2][1][10]

Conjunction

1. (Medieval Latin) Until.^[9]

Related words

• inter
• intereā
• inde

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
9. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson