Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INTERPOLATE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

pronounce INTERPOLATE: Say it "in TUR puh late." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: What does it mean, exactly, to interpolate something into something else? I bet you can define it even if you haven't seen it before, since you know what inter- means. To interpolate stuff is to stick it in: "They just interpolated that shot of Greedo firing at Han first. It wasn't in the original. Han shot first!" The word interpolate comes from roots that, surprisingly, literally mean "to polish between." We'll see why in a moment. Since we know that the idea of polishing is at the root of interpolating, we can see how it's related to the words polish and polite. (Polite first meant "smooth and polished; neat and clean.") Hey, are those words related to politics? I wondered, but, nope. Politics traces back to a Greek word for "citizen," which itself comes from polis, "city," the one that gave us words like police, policy, metropolis, and cosmopolitan. Sorry, y'all. I fell down an etymological rabbit hole, and I dragged you with me. As always. Getting back to the idea of interpolating--meaning "to stick things in, often dishonestly"--see if you can recall a synonym with a more positive tone: inter_____. Below, I'm inter____ing my copy of Galapagos with some blank note cards. (Need a clue? What's another one-syllable word for "page" that hints at the origins of paper?) (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  definition: Our word "interpolate" has Latin roots that mean, more or less, "to polish between." Long ago, to interpolate a book, or to interpolate a piece of writing, meant to polish it up. (I imagine sliding a rag in between each sentence, shaking out all the dusty, unnecessary words.) But the meaning has changed. Today, to interpolate something (usually a piece of writing) is to stick things into it that weren't there at first. Sometimes, interpolating things is dishonest: it involves sticking things that don't belong into the original, then acting like they were there all along. "Interpolate" also has a specific meaning in mathematics, but the general idea is the same: sticking stuff in. To interpolate mathematical terms is to stick them into the middle of a series. You might think, since "interpolate" can mean "to stick a number into the middle," that we could use the word "interpolate" to mean "to infer something by looking at the data before and after it." In fact, I did find a few examples of people using the word that way. But it's rare, and that meaning isn't recognized by all dictionaries. Not yet, at least. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "They interpolated this;" "He interpolated a new part at the end." Other forms:  Interpolated, interpolating, interpolation, interpolator(s), interpolatory. how to use it: Talk about people interpolating sounds, songs, melodies, images, scenes, words, phrases, notes, quotes, background information, and other materials, often into or between things (like other texts, presentations, pieces of music, films, etc.--or, more abstractly, memories or histories). When you use the word "interpolate," your tone might be neutral and descriptive. But it can often be slightly negative, suggesting an awkward arrangement, or even a dishonest one. Overall, the word "interpolate" is a bit clunky and academic. If that's not the vibe you're going for, consider the more graceful word "interleave." examples: "Most scholars agree that these lines are interpolated, since they do not fit in with the rest of the poem."    — Old English Poems, Translated by Cosette Faust Newton and Stith Thompson, 2010 "Though clearly aiming to be a major work, 'Something in the Blood' nonetheless comes across as part psychosexual case study and part loose and baggy monster. Its text interpolates entire short biographies of Wilde and actor Sir Henry Irving."     — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 26 October 2016 has this page helped you understand "interpolate"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "interpolate" without saying "interpose" or "add in." try it out: Here are a few examples of interpolations that I really don't mind. In fact, I appreciate them. 1. My favorite poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," opens with an excerpt in Italian from Dante's Inferno. I can't read Italian! But in the literature textbook where I first met Prufrock, someone had interpolated an English translation into the poem. Nice. I like it. But some people might argue that the English translation ruins the effect. It was the poet's intention to throw us immediately into the unknown, and all. 2. We have a copy of Puff the Magic Dragon in picture book form, which I read and sing to my daughter. You know how the last verse of that song is so incredibly sad? How the little boy loses interest in Puff, and Puff slips sorrowfully away into his cave, alone forever? Don't worry, because at the end of this book, the illustrator has helpfully interpolated an image of Puff finding a new young friend. It's really uplifting. But some people might argue that the illustration ruins the original message of the song, that the magic of childhood fades and is never recaptured. With these examples in mind, see if you can talk about some interpolation that you especially appreciate. Who might disagree with you about its value or effect, and why? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) 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. Our game this month is "Faces & Feelings." If the word you're studying were a facial expression, what would it look like? Maybe one of the seven universal facial expressions, the ones identified by the psychologist Paul Ekman. In each issue, take a handful of words and assign each to an emotion it inspires. I'll list my answers at the bottom of each issue. Yours might be different from mine, which is okay--words, and emotions, are complex and personal! The goal here is just to interact with our words, to tie them more securely into memory by connecting them to emotion and to the face. Try this set today. Match each face on the left to a term on the right:     lamentable legerdemain leviathan lilt limbo livid lugubrious   review this word: 1. Mathematically speaking, the exact opposite of INTERPOLATE is EXTRAPOLATE. But generally speaking, the opposite of INTERPOLATE is A. EXCISE (cut or snip out). B. EXTORT (force or scare out). C. EXTIRPATE (rip out, as if by the roots). 2. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole famously interpolated _____. A. the affectionate nickname "Bruddah Iz" B. the best-selling Hawaiian album of all time C. bits of "It's a Wonderful World" into "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. C Suggested answers to game questions: lilt: joy legerdemain: surprise limbo: contempt lamentable: sadness  livid: anger lugubrious: disgust leviathan: fear 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.