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interpello

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word interpello

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (pellō)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.tɛrˈpɛl.loː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [in.terˈpɛl.lo][1]

Forms

interpellō (present infinitive interpellāre, perfect active interpellāvī, supine interpellātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from inter- (“between”) and pellō (“to push, drive”), passing into the first conjugation like appellō and compellō.[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨pellō⟩ to Proto-Italic *pelnā- and Proto-Indo-European *pl-n(e)-h₂- (“to approach”), cognate with Ancient Greek πίλναμαι (pílnamai, “to approach”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short cite Plautus' “if you interrupt, I'll be silent”.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is to interrupt a speaker, or to say something by way of interruption: Cicero says he did not interrupt even to praise.[2] It extends to interrupting any activity or process, as weeping interrupts Cicero's talk with his books, and to obstructing persons or actions: Caesar says siege works robbed him of a clear victory.[2] It is also to accost someone, especially with a request, and to make advances to a woman; in law it is to sue.[2]

A grammar ascribed to Julian of Toledo cites intrepella for interpella as a barbarism.[3] Church Latin glosses it “interrupt, hinder; intercede; interrogate”.[6] English interpellate (1590s) meant “interrupt”; its parliamentary sense dates from 1874.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of interrupting.[5][8]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of accosting.[2][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of interruption and obstruction.[2][8]
  • 1590s – English interpellate.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To interrupt a speaker; to say by way of interruption.[2][5][1][6]
  2. To interrupt a person or activity; to break up, intersperse.[2][1]
  3. To obstruct, hinder, impede.[2][1][6]
  4. To accost, especially with a request; to solicit a woman.[2][1]
  5. (law) To sue.[2]

Word family

  • interpellātiō
  • interpellātor
  • interpellatrix
  • interpellātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Interpello.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/interpello. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·