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*me1‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos2‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios2‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius3‘middle, mid, central, between, midway between, in the center’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmezzo4‘half’
- Italianc. 1300–presentintermezzo5
- Englishearliest quotation 1924intermezzo5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin medius
- 3 Wiktionary, Italian mezzo
- 4 Wiktionary, Italian intermezzo
- 5 Wiktionary, English intermezzo
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, I. Introduction: “Thespis’ single actor served only to create an intermezzo…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyosWiktionary, Latin medius‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðiosWiktionary, Latin medius‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediusWiktionary, Italian mezzo‘middle, mid, central, between, midway between, in the center’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmezzoWiktionary, Italian intermezzo‘half’
- Italianc. 1300–presentintermezzoWiktionary, English intermezzo
- Englishearliest quotation 1924intermezzoWiktionary, English intermezzo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “intermezzo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, Latin medius, Italian mezzo, Italian intermezzo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *me / intermezzo