Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INTER
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pronounce
INTER:
Say it "in TUR."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Figuratively speaking, if you inter something, you "bury" it, meaning you hide it or forget it, deflecting attention away from it. And if you d__inter it, you dig it back up: that is, you focus attention on it once more, after it had been hidden or forgotten.
Inside our word inter, you can almost see the Latin terra, meaning "earth or land," just like you can in the terms terrain, territory, terrestrial, terr_ f___a ("solid ground, or any substantial basis"), and terr_ __cogn__a ("unknown land, or anything unfamiliar and unexplored"). Can you recall those?
You might wonder if the words inter ("to bury") and interment ("burial") are related to intern, internal, and internment ("detention or captivity"). Nope, not really. Intern, internal, and internment came from the Latin word for "inside, inward, within," rather than the word for "in the earth," which is where we got inter and interment.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "inter" has Latin roots that mean "in the earth."
Literally speaking, to inter something, usually a body, is to bury it in the ground.
And figuratively speaking, to inter something is to put it away forever, as if you're burying it in the ground.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: verb, the transitive kind: "This is the cemetery where our grandparents are interred," "Those memories are better left interred."
Other forms: interred, interring, interment.
how to use it:
This word has a heavy, solemn, dignified tone.
We most often use it to talk literally about interring people: their bodies, or their remains.
But we can also use it to talk figuratively about interring documents, memories, ideas, truths, etc.
So basically, when you need a more serious, respectful synonym of "bury," pick "inter."
examples:
"At Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier compels us to not only contemplate those who are interred in the vault... [but also those] entombed in the Flanders mud or the depths of the Pacific Ocean. For a moment, those lost in the fog of war are not forgotten."
— Editorial, Associated Press, 24 September 2019
"Reels of film forgotten or lost sometimes turn up randomly—interred in an archive in New Zealand, or sealed into a swimming pool in a remote town in the Yukon."
— Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 October 2019
has this page helped you understand "inter"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "inter" without saying "lay to rest" or "entomb."
try it out:
Consider this comment from the Los Angeles Times:
"MIT tried to...suggest that the good Koch did for the institution's endowment should live after him, while interring the evil with his bones."
It's a reference you'll probably recognize, from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, when Antony says:
"The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar."
Although Antony is probably speaking here with irony aplenty, talk about what his words appear to mean, and whether or not you agree with them. What would it mean for the evil or good we do to be interred along with our bodies? Who does the interring, so to speak? On its surface, does Antony's statement seem true or false, or does it depend? Can you give some examples of people whose deeds, good or evil, have been interred, as opposed to, you know, kept above ground?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."
(Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.")
In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long.
That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one.
For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds."
From the previous issue:
"You assail the ruler, you oughtn't misfire." --> "You come at the king, you best not miss."
Try this today: "When you engage with the tournament of sovereignties, you succeed or you perish."
Say that, but in words of one beat each.
Clues:
Where it's from: a TV show.
The year we first heard it: 2011.
review this word:
But a pretty close opposite of INTER is
A. EXIT.
B. EXHIBIT.
C. EXHUME.
2. Dear Abby advises against _____, allowing any _____ to be similarly interred.
A. pursuing any sort of revenge .. bygone slights, intended or otherwise,
B. competing with the dead .. insecurities about your spouse's previous loves
C. pleading continually with people who never developed empathy .. close ties with them
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Figuratively speaking, if you inter something, you "bury" it, meaning you hide it or forget it, deflecting attention away from it. And if you d__inter it, you dig it back up: that is, you focus attention on it once more, after it had been hidden or forgotten. The word "inter" has Latin roots that mean "in the earth."
Part of speech: verb, the transitive kind: "This is the cemetery where our grandparents are interred," "Those memories are better left interred."
This word has a heavy, solemn, dignified tone.
"At Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier compels us to not only contemplate those who are interred in the vault... [but also those] entombed in the Flanders mud or the depths of the Pacific Ocean. For a moment, those lost in the fog of war are not forgotten."
Explain the meaning of "inter" without saying "lay to rest" or "entomb."
Consider this comment from the Los Angeles Times:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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