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interro

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word interro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1212
Ultimate origin
Latin terra
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin terra
French terre
Italian terra
Latin interro
From the same root
Latin mediterraneus ← terra
Latin terrenus ← terra
Latin terrestris ← terra
Latin terrigena ← terra
French enterrer ← terre

Forms

interrō (present infinitive interrāre); first conjugation[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- (“in, into”) + terra (“earth”), formed in Medieval Latin.[3][4] The DMLBS compares Anglo-Norman and Old French enterrer.[2] Wiktionary reconstructs it as a verb of early Romance, the source of Italian interrare, Sicilian intirrari, Catalan enterrar and Occitan enterrar.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotation in the DMLBS is from the Leges Edwardi Confessoris, which order that a man be buried “as a Christian” (interrent eum sicut Christianum).[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant to inter or bury the dead.[1][2] A charter of 1212 from Troyes uses it for burying a woman alive, a capital punishment.[6] In British sources it was also used of packing earth into the dam of a mill pond.[2] English took over the word around 1300, through Old French enterer.[4]

Timeline

  • 1212 – A charter of the chapter of Troyes uses it for burying alive as a punishment.[6]
  • 1234 – An English record speaks of slain men “seen and buried” by the prior's servants.[2]
  • 1278 – English accounts use it of packing earth into a mill dam.[2]
  • c. 1300 – Borrowed into English, through Old French, as inter.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To inter, bury.[1][2][6]
  2. To bury alive, as a capital punishment for women.[6]
  3. To pack with earth.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c d e 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

“Interro.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/interro. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·