Where does “internal” come from?

Internal comes from Middle English internall, from Medieval Latin internalis, from Latin inter meaning "between" combined with -alis, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European welH-.

internal (English): inside of something; within the body; concerned...

Definitions

  1. inside of something; within the body; concerned...

Ancestry of “internal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishinternall
2Latininternālisof or pertaining to the inner part of something; internal
3Latininternusinward, internal; domestic, civil, internal
4Latininterbetween, among; during, while
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁entérbetween
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁enin; in, inside

Words derived from “internal

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁en