intermezzo

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˌɪntɚˈmɛtsoʊ/ UK /ˌɪntəˈmɛtsəʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a short musical or dramatic piece performed between larger movements or acts

A gentle intermezzo bridged the opera's two heavier acts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a short musical or dramatic... interlude entr'acte interval intermission

Word family

Related forms intermediate medium

Etymology

From Italian intermezzo ('interlude'), from Latin intermedius ('in the middle'), from inter- ('between') + medius ('middle').

intermezzo Italian intermedius Latin medius Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# intermezzo

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪntɚˈmɛtsoʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪntəˈmɛtsəʊ/

## Meanings
1. a short musical or dramatic piece performed between larger movements or acts

## Examples
- A gentle intermezzo bridged the opera's two heavier acts.

## Synonyms
- interlude
- entr'acte
- interval
- intermission

## Related Forms
- intermediate
- medium

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: intermezzo
- Root: intermedius
- Root: medius

## Etymology
From Italian intermezzo ('interlude'), from Latin intermedius ('in the middle'), from inter- ('between') + medius ('middle').

## AI Etymology
intermezzo comes from Italian intermezzo ('interlude'), from Latin intermedius ('in the middle'), from inter- ('between') + medius ('middle'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "a short musical or dramatic piece performed between larger movements or acts", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as intermediate and medium. Its semantic neighborhood includes interlude, entr'acte, interval, and intermission, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Italian intermezzo, Latin intermedius, and Latin medius.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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intermezzo

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