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Origin and history of interchangeable

interchangeable(adj.)

late 14c., entrechaungeable, "mutual, reciprocal," from inter- + changeable. Meaning "capable of being used in place of each other" is from 1560s. Related: Interchangeably.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to interchangeable

changeable(adj.)

mid-13c., "unstable, inconstant, unreliable," from Old French changeable "inconstant," from changier "to alter; exchange; to switch" (see change (v.)) + -able (see -able). The meaning "subject to variation" is from late 14c. Related: Changeably; changeability.

interchangeability(n.)

"state of being interchangeable," 1763; see interchangeable + -ity.

inter-

word-forming element used freely in English, "between, among, during," from Latin inter (prep., adv.) "among, between, betwixt, in the midst of" (also used extensively as a prefix), from PIE *enter "between, among" (source also of Sanskrit antar, Old Persian antar "among, between," Greek entera (plural) "intestines," Old Irish eter, Old Welsh ithr "among, between," Gothic undar, Old English under "under"), a comparative of root *en "in."

A living prefix in English from 15c. and used with Germanic as well as Latinate words. Spelled entre- in French; most words borrowed into English in that form were re-spelled 16c. to conform with Latin except entertain, enterprise. In Latin, spelling shifted to intel- before -l-, hence intelligence, etc.

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    late 14c., "interchangeable," from Old French convertible "interchangeable" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin convertibilis...
    module
    Meaning "interchangeable part" is recorded by 1955, via the notion of "length chosen as the basis for the dimensions of parts...
    deduct
    counting," from Latin deductus, past participle of deducere "lead down, bring away;" see deduce, with which it formerly was interchangeable...
    reciprocal
    1570s, "existing on both sides, exclusive or interchangeable" (of duties, etc.), with -al (1) + stem of Latin reciprocus...
    buccaneer
    boucan," a native grill for roasting meat, from Tupi mukem (rendered in Portuguese as moquem c. 1587): "initial b and m are interchangeable...
    bond
    early 13c., "anything that binds, fastens, or confines," a phonetic variant of band (n.1) and at first interchangeable with...
    that
    Generally more specific or emphatic than the, but in some cases they are interchangeable....
    citizen
    c. 1300, citisein (fem. citeseine) "inhabitant of a city or town," from Anglo-French citesein, citezein "city-dweller, town-dweller, citizen" (Old French citeien, 12c., Modern French citoyen), from cite (see city) + -ain (see -ian). According to Middle English Compendium, the -s-
    Saturday
    seventh or last day of the week, Old English sæterdæg, sæternesdæg, literally "day of the planet Saturn," from Sæternes (genitive of Sætern; see Saturn) + Old English dæg (see day). Partial loan-translation of Latin Saturni dies "Saturn's day" (compare Dutch Zaterdag, Old Frisian
    record
    c. 1200, recorden, "to repeat, reiterate, recite; rehearse, get by heart" (senses now obsolete), from Old French recorder "tell, relate, repeat, recite, report, make known" (12c.) and directly from Latin recordari "remember, call to mind, think over, be mindful of," from re-, her

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