interim (English)

Where does "interim" come from?

The English word 'interim' comes from the Latin 'interim', which translates to 'meanwhile'[1]. This Latin adverb is formed by combining 'inter', meaning 'between', and 'im', which is an archaic form of the pronoun 'is' meaning 'that' or 'this'[2]. The root 'inter' itself traces back to the Proto-Italic '*ənter' and further to the Proto-Indo-European '*h₁entér' meaning 'between'[3]. The term 'im' similarly descends from the Proto-Indo-European pronoun '*ím'[5]. Throughout its evolution, the word moved from these ancient roots signifying location and reference into its current English sense of something that is 'transitional' or 'temporary'[1].

Open questions

• The exact transition of the Latin form from an instrumental or ablative usage to a purely accusative one is proposed as being influenced by the adverbial use of the suffix *-teros. [3]

Full etymology tree

• interim (English), 'Transitional.'
  • borrowed interim (Latin), 'meanwhile, in the meantime, in the interim'
    • compound inter (Latin), 'between, among'
      • inherited *ənter (Proto-Italic), 'between'
        • inherited *h₁entér (Proto-Indo-European), 'between'
    • compound im (Latin), 'alternative form of eum'
      • derived *ím (Proto-Indo-European)
        • derived *ís (Proto-Indo-European), 'this, he (used as the 3rd person pronoun)'

Ancestors

• interim (Latin)

Sources

1. interim (English) - Wiktionary
2. interim (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. inter (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. is (Latin) - Wiktionary
5. im (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris