Etymograph

English

internist

Internist comes from German intern ‘internal’, from Latin inter ‘between, among’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’.

  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, among’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinternus4‘inward, internal’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentintern5‘internal’
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentInternist6
  8. Englishtodayinternist6

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, German intern
  5. 5 Wiktionary, German Internist
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English internist

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, among’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinternusWiktionary, German intern‘inward, internal’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentinternWiktionary, German Internist‘internal’
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentInternistWiktionary, English internist
  8. EnglishtodayinternistWiktionary, English internist

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, entrance, indigenous, encounter, ensemble, impulse, intimate, incense, incubation, endo, impel, dysentery, incubus, incubate, agog, intimation, censer, enteral, 32 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér ‘between’

interregnum, 3 more

through Latin inter ‘between, among’

interpretation, interpreter, intestine, 8 more

Today it means

noun A physician who specialises in internal medicine.

Sources

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

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