English
intermezzo
Intermezzo comes from Italian intermezzo, from mezzo ‘half’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius‘middle, mid, central, between, midway between, in the center’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmezzo‘half’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentintermezzo
- Englishearliest quotation 1924same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius‘middle, mid, central, between, midway between, in the center’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmezzo‘half’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentintermezzo
- Englishearliest quotation 1924same form
Earliest quotation: 1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, I. Introduction: “Thespis’ single actor served only to create an intermezzo…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘between’
media, mid, midst, maidan, meso, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *meðios ‘middle’
through Latin medius ‘middle, mid, central, between, midway between,…’
mean, medium, medal, median, demi, mediation, mediator, medial, milieu, mediate, moiety, medulla, mezzanine, medio, moyen, 18 more
Today it means
noun A short piece of music or act in the interval of the main spectacle; a theatrical interlude.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *me / intermezzo