Etymologically
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intra

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɪn.traː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈin.tra][1]

Forms

intrā (+ accusative)[1]

Etymology

It is the old ablative singular feminine of ⟨*interus⟩ “inner”, inherited from Proto-Italic *ntero- (“interior”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én-teros (“situated within”), from the root of in.[2][1][3] The same adjective is continued in intrō and interior.[2] Cognate with Sanskrit अन्तर (ántara-, “interior”) and Ancient Greek ἔντερα (éntera, “intestines”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Ennius, as a preposition of position.[3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

As a preposition with the accusative it meant within, inside, and Cicero has intrā parietēs meōs “within my own walls”, privately.[3][5] In Ovid it meant within the mind, and in Plautus within a space of time.[3] It also meant short of a line, as in Pacuvius, without exceeding a limit, as in Cicero, and confined to a sphere, as in Celsus.[3] As an adverb, which Lewis & Short call post-Augustan, it meant inside and inwards, as in Vitruvius.[3][6]

Gildas and other British Medieval Latin writers used it for within a barrier or boundary.[7] English uses it in the prefix English intra- “within”.[8]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[3][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of time.[3][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it as an adverb.[3][4]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. (with accusative) Within, inside.[3]
  2. Within (a period of time).[3]
  3. Short of; without exceeding.[3]
  4. Confined to.[3]

Adverb

  1. Inside; inwards.[3]

Word family

  • intraclusus
  • intrāmūrānus
  • intrāneus
  • intrīnsecus
  • intrō
  • inter
  • interior
  • intimus
  • extrā
  • English intra-

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com