Intermittent
/ˌɪn.tərˈmɪt.ənt/noun
Occurring at irregular intervals; stopping and starting repeatedly.
Did you know?Its ancestor comes from Latin *intermittere*, a verb used for pauses, breaks, and letting something be “sent in between,” not from anything mystical—but it became a perfect word for the eerie rhythm of things that vanish and return.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mei-
“to change, exchange, go back and forth”
Latin
Latin
intermittere
“to leave off, pause, suspend, let fall between”
Late Latin
Latin
intermittentem
“stopping and starting; pausing repeatedly”
14th–15th Century
Middle English
intermittent
“causing or marked by pauses or interruptions”
Modern English
English
intermittent
“occurring at irregular intervals”