Word of the Day

: October 4, 2018

intestine

adjective in-TESS-tin

What It Means

: internal; specifically : of or relating to the internal affairs of a state or country

intestine in Context

News reports of intestine disagreements between the country's two most powerful political factions led to murmurings that the country was on the precipice of civil war.

"Never, during the whole existence of the English nation, had so long a period passed without intestine hostilities. Men had become accustomed to the pursuits of peaceful industry, and, exasperated, as they were, hesitated long before they drew the sword." — Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England, 1848

Did You Know?

We bet you thought intestine was a noun referring to a part of the digestive system! It is, of course, but naming that internal body part isn't the word's only function. Both the noun and the adjective intestine have been a part of English since the 15th century, and both trace to the Latin adjective intestinus, meaning "internal," and ultimately to intus, meaning "within." Though the adjective intestine turns up much less frequently than does its anatomical cousin, it does see occasional use, especially as a synonym for civil and domestic (in contrast to foreign) applied to wars and disturbances.