Etymograph

English

internal

Internal comes from Middle English internall, from New Latin internālis ‘of the inner part’, from Latin internus ‘inward’, from inter ‘between’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én1‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁entér2‘between’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*n̥ter2‘between’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinter3‘between’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinternus4‘inward’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900internālis4‘of or pertaining to the inner part’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500internall4
  8. Englishtodayinternal4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin inter
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin internus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English internal

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁entérWiktionary, Latin inter‘between’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*n̥terWiktionary, Latin inter‘between’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinterWiktionary, Latin internus‘between’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinternusWiktionary, English internal‘inward’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900internālisWiktionary, English internal‘of or pertaining to the inner part’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500internallWiktionary, English internal
  8. EnglishtodayinternalWiktionary, English internal

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with internal, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

  • in
  • entrance ← entrer ← entrer ← intrō ← intrā
  • indigenous ← indigenus ← *endogenos ← *h₁n̥dó
  • encounter ← encountren ← encountrer ← incontrā ← in
  • ensemble ← īnsimul ← simul ← in ← en
  • impulse ← impulser ← impulsus ← impellō ← pellō
  • intimate ← intimātus ← intimō ← intimus ← intus
  • incense ← encens ← encens ← incensum ← incendō
  • incubation ← incubātiō ← incubō ← *enkubāō ← *kubāō
  • endo ← ἔνδον ← *éndon ← *h₁n̥dóm ← *h₁n̥dó
  • impel ← impellen ← impellō ← pellō ← *pelnō
  • incubus ← incubō ← *enkubāō ← *kubāō ← *en-

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Today it means

adj Of or situated on the inside.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “internal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér, Latin inter, Latin internus. 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 *h₁én / internal