entry
interjection
/ˌɪntərˈdʒɛkʃən/An exclamation expressing sudden feeling or reaction
From Latin inter- (between) + Latin icere (combining form of “to throw”) + Latin iacio (to throw).
from Old French interjeccion (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). As a grammatical part of speech by mid-15c. Related: Interjectional;...
from Latin interiectionem (nominative interiectio ) "a throwing or placing between," also in grammar and rhetoric, noun...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French interjeccion (13c.) and directly
from Middle English interjeccioun
from Old French interjection (13th century)
Word Ancestry
from Old French interjeccion (13c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). As a grammatical part of speech by mid-15c. Related: Interjectional;...
from Latin interiectionem (nominative interiectio ) "a throwing or placing between," also in grammar and rhetoric, noun...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French interjeccion (13c.) and directly
from Middle English interjeccioun
from Old French interjection (13th century)
Picture a Roman speaker tossing a word into the middle of a sentence like a pebble into a fountain. That is the literal image behind Latin interiectiō: inter, “between,” plus iaciō, “I throw,” whose combining form appears as -icere. By the 13th century, Old French had turned this “throwing between” into interjeccion, meaning an exclamation; Middle English adopted it as interjeccioun in the early 15th century. The grammatical label is wonderfully physical: “Wow!” or “ouch!” is a little verbal object hurled into conversation, often standing outside the sentence’s ordinary machinery. English has preserved the same dramatic instinct in words such as hey, why, and whoop—whoop was recorded as an interjection by the mid-15th century. So when someone shouts “Ouch!”, imagine not merely emotion escaping, but language being thrown straight into the conversational gap.
The Story
Picture a Roman speaker tossing a word into the middle of a sentence like a pebble into a fountain. That is the literal image behind Latin interiectiō: inter, “between,” plus iaciō, “I throw,” whose combining form appears as -icere. By the 13th century, Old French had turned this “throwing between” into interjeccion, meaning an exclamation; Middle English adopted it as interjeccioun in the early 15th century. The grammatical label is wonderfully physical: “Wow!” or “ouch!” is a little verbal object hurled into conversation, often standing outside the sentence’s ordinary machinery. English has preserved the same dramatic instinct in words such as hey, why, and whoop—whoop was recorded as an interjection by the mid-15th century. So when someone shouts “Ouch!”, imagine not merely emotion escaping, but language being thrown straight into the conversational gap.
Kin & Kindred
From 'inter-'·between, among
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'icere'·combining form of “to throw”
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'iacio'·to throw, cast
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia