inter-, intero-
(Latin: between; among, mutually, together; on the inside, internal)
Although abstracted from the many compounds in which it entered English, the form inter- was not generally considered a living prefix in English until the 1400s.
During the later period of Middle English many words borrowed in the Old and Middle French forms entre-, enter- began to be consciously respelled with Latin inter-; although vestiges of the older French borrowings are found in entertain and enterprise.
The living prefix inter- is now freely added to almost any element in English to create such formations with the meaning of "between" and "among". The words formed by intra- are closely related to this inter- prefix; in fact, they both apparently came from the same Latin source.
internecine, internecinal, interneciary
1. Damaging or injuring participants on both sides of a conflict or struggle.
2. Characterized by bloodshed or carnage.
The original meaning of internecine: "attended by great slaughter".
internist
internodal
internode
internuclear
1. Located or occurring between nuclei.
2. Pertaining to or affecting structures between nuclei, as internuclear ophthalmoplegia.
3. Between the nuclear layers of the retina.
interocular
1. Being, or situated, between the eyes.
2. Between, or within, the eyes; such as, the interocular distance.
3. Situated between the eyes; such as, the antennae of some insects.
interorbital
1. Situated or extending between the orbits of the eyes.
2. Between the orbits; such as, the interorbital septum (a dividing wall or partition, a general term for such a structure).
interosculant
1. Mutually touching or intersecting; as, interosculant circles.
2. Uniting two groups; said of certain genera which connect family groups, or of species that connect genera.
interosculate
1. To kiss together, to touch.
2. To have the character of, or to lie between, two distinct groups.
3. To form a connecting link, as between objects, genera, etc.
4. Etymology: from Latin osculat-, "kissed"; from the verb osculari, from osculum, "little mouth" or "kiss".
interosseous
interparietal
1. Between the parietal bones or cartilages.
2. Situated between the walls of organs.
interpellate
interpellation
interphalangeal
Situated between two successive phalanges (joints) of a finger or toe; denoting the finger or toe joints.
interphone
A telephone system (as in an airplane, tank, ship, or office building) for intercommunication between points within a small area.
Related "together" units:
com-;
greg-;
struct-.
Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "internal organs, entrails, inside":
ent-;
enter-;
fistul-;
incret-;
intra-;
splanchn-;
viscer-.
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