interrupt
UK[ˌɪntəˈrʌpt]US[ˌɪntəˈrʌpt]
v
To stop a person from speaking or an activity from continuing by saying or doing something.
v
To make a break in the continuity or uniformity of something.
Morpheme Breakdown
inter
rupt
inter
between
rupt
break
Etymology
The word 'interrupt' is a direct borrowing from Latin 'interruptus', the past participle of 'interrumpere', meaning "to break apart, break off". This Latin verb is a compound of 'inter-' ("between") and 'rumpere' ("to break"). The core logic is vividly physical: to break into the middle of something, creating a gap or a stop. Over time, this literal sense of breaking a physical continuity evolved to encompass the abstract action of breaking the flow of speech, thought, or any ongoing process. The semantic journey perfectly preserves the original image: an interruption is a figurative "breaking between" the normal sequence of events.
Analysis
Structure: inter (between) + rupt (break)
'inter-' is a Latin prefix meaning "between, among". '-rupt' is from the Latin root 'rupt-', the past participle stem of 'rumpere', meaning "to break".
Examples
Please do not interrupt the speaker while they are presenting.
A loud crash from the kitchen interrupted our conversation.
The calm of the afternoon was interrupted by a sudden thunderstorm.