Etymologically
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interro

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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