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Origin and history of intercept

intercept(v.)

c. 1400, "to cut off" (a line), "prevent" (the spread of a disease), from Latin interceptus, past participle of intercipere "take or seize between, to seize in passing," from inter "between" (see inter-) + -cipere, combining form of capere "to take, catch," from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." Related: Intercepted; intercepting.

also from c. 1400

intercept(n.)

"that which is intercepted," from intercept (v.). From 1821 of a ball thrown in a sport; 1880 in navigation; 1942 in reference to secret messages.

Entries linking to intercept

interception(n.)

early 15c., "action of intercepting" (the flow of a bodily fluid), from Latin interceptionem (nominative interceptio) "a seizing, taking away," noun of action from past participle stem of intercipere (see intercept (v.)). Specific football/rugby sense is attested by 1897. Meaning "action of closing in on and destroying an enemy aircraft, etc." is recorded from 1939.

interceptor(n.)

1590s, from Latin interceptor "interceptor, usurper, embezzler," agent noun from intercipere (see intercept (v.)). As a type of fast fighter aircraft, from 1930. Intercepter is attested from c. 1600.

  • inter-
  • *kap-
  • See All Related Words (4)
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Trends of intercept

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

tap
c. 1200, tappen, "give a tap, strike lightly but audibly," either native or from or in part from Old French taper "tap, rap, strike" (12c.), ultimately imitative of the sound of rapping. Specifically as "strike one's foot lightly on something" (in time to music, etc.) from mid-15
bug
"insect, beetle," 1620s (earliest reference is to bedbugs), of unknown origin, probably (but not certainly) from or influenced by Middle English bugge "something frightening, scarecrow" (late 14c.), a word or meaning that has become obsolete since the "insect" sense arose, except
stop
Middle English stoppen, "obstruct (a passage) with a physical barrier; close up by filling, stuffing, or plugging," from Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), a general West Germanic word, cognate with Old Saxon stuppon, West Frisian stopje, Middle Low Germ
intervene
1580s, "intercept" (obsolete), a back-formation from intervention, or else from Latin intervenire "to come between, intervene...
forestall
(implied in forestalling), "to lie in wait for;" also "to intercept goods before they reach public markets and buy them privately...
portiere
A curtain hung at a doorway, or entrance to a room, either with the door or to replace it, to intercept the view or currents...
cut-off
late 14c. as "detach by cutting;" from 1570s as "exclude from access" and "bring to an abrupt end;" and from 1590s as "intercept...
cut-out
also cutout, 1851, in reference to a kind of switch on a circuit to cut out an instrument, from the verbal phrase, from cut (v.) + out (adv.). The verbal phrase is attested from c. 1400 as "cut so as to take out;" from 1550s as "fashion or shape by cutting;" from 1736 as "remove,
post
"a timber of considerable size set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and from Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," in Medieval Latin "a beam, rod, pole," which is perhaps from Vulgar Latin *por- "forth," a variant
spot
c. 1200, "moral stain;" by mid-14c. as "speck, stain left by something on a surface;" probably at least in part from a variant of Old English splott "a spot, blot, patch (of land)," and partly from or related to Middle Dutch spotte "spot, speck." Other cognates are East Frisian s

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Trending
Dictionary entries near intercept
  • interbreed
  • intercalary
  • intercalate
  • intercalation
  • intercede
  • intercept
  • interception
  • interceptor
  • intercession
  • intercessor
  • interchange
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