Where does “inter-agency” come from?
inter-agency (English) comes from English inter, from Middle English enteren, from French entrer, from Middle French entrer, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrō, from Latin intra, from Latin interus — Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix.
Ancestry of “inter-agency”, step by step
inter-agency traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English inter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | inter | To bury in a grave; To confine, as in a prison |
| 2 | Middle English | enteren | — |
| 3 | French | entrer | to enter |
| 4 | Middle French | entrer | to enter |
| 5 | Old French | entrer | to enter |
| 6 | Latin | intrō | to enter, go into, come in, get in, penetrate |
| 7 | Latin | intra | within; inside; during; less than |
| 8 | Latin | interus | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁énteros | inside, within |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -teros | Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix |
via English agency
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | agency | The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of... |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | agentia | nominative neuter plural of agēns; accusative... |
| 3 | Latin | agēns | doing, acting, making |
| 4 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |