Interrupt
/ˌɪn.təˈrʌpt/noun
To stop something from continuing for a period of time or to break in on speech or action.
Did you know?Interrupt comes from Latin interruptus, the past participle of interrumpere, and its root rumpere also gave us rupture, bankrupt, and corrupt — all carrying the same brutal idea of something being broken apart.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reup-
“to break, burst”
Latin
Latin
rumpere
“to break, burst, shatter”
Latin
Latin
interrumpere
“to break between; break off”
Late Latin
Latin
interruptus
“broken off, interrupted”
Middle English
English
interrupten
“to break in upon, stop the course of”
Modern English
English
interrupt
“to stop someone or something from continuing briefly”