Where does “intermittent” come from?
intermittent (Middle French) comes from Latin intermittens, from Latin intermitto, from Latin inter, from Proto-Indo-European h₁entér, from Proto-Indo-European h₁en — in; in, inside.
Ancestry of “intermittent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | intermittens | interrupting |
| 2 | Latin | intermitto | I interrupt; I stop; I omit |
| 3 | Latin | inter | between, among; during, while |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁entér | between |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁en | in; in, inside |