Etymograph

English

interpel

Interpel comes from Latin interpello ‘to interrupt by speaking, disrupt, disturb,…’, from inter ‘between’, 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’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinterpello3‘to interrupt by speaking, disrupt, disturb, interject’
  6. Englishtodayinterpel3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin inter
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English interpel

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, English interpel‘between’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinterpelloWiktionary, English interpel‘to interrupt by speaking, disrupt, disturb, interject’
  6. EnglishtodayinterpelWiktionary, English interpel

The story

Latin interpello, from inter (‘between’) + pellare, akin to pellere (‘to drive’), compare French interpeller.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, entrance, indigenous, encounter, ensemble, impulse, intimate, incense, incubation, endo, incubus, dysentery, incubate, agog, impel, intimation, censer, enteral, 33 more

through Latin inter ‘between’

intestine, 10 more

Today it means

verb To interrupt, break in upon, or intercede with.

Sources

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

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