The words intern and inter are spelled and pronounced similarly, but mean two different things. We will look at the definitions of intern and inter, their origins and some examples of their use in sentences.
The word intern describes a trainee or a student who works at a place of business in order to gain experience. An intern may or may not be paid. In North America, the word intern may be used to describe a recent medical school graduate who is in training at a hospital as a physician or surgeon. Intern is also used as a verb to mean to be detained or imprisoned, especially as a political prisoner or in a time of war. It is also used to mean the act of acting as an intern at a place of business or in a hospital. The word intern is derived from the Latin word internus which means inward or within. Related words are interns, interned, interning, internship.
The word inter means to deposit a corpse in a tomb or in a grave, to lay a dead person to rest, often with funeral rites. Inter is a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. The word inter is derived from the Medieval Latin word interrare, which means to bury, to deposit in the earth. Related words are inters, interred, interring, interment.
Examples
Glassdoor reports that a Ph.D. software engineer intern can expect to earn around $9,000/month, with a regular software engineer averaging $8,467/month. (Money Magazine)
Exuberant television personality Ross Mathews, known for his appearances as “Ross the Intern” on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” has bought a home in the Palm Springs area for $570,000. (The Los Angeles Times)
Officials remain in a quandary in their attempt to begin the re-interment of caskets unearthed during the August flooding. (The Livingston Parish News)