From Old French enterrer (to bury, literally to put in the earth), from Vulgar Latin *interrāre, from Latin in- (in, into) + terra (earth, ground, land). Terra derives from PIE *ters- (to dry), the idea being that dry land is what you stand on as opposed to water. The root *ters- also underlies Latin torrēre (to parch, to scorch) and torridus (scorched, giving torrid). Terra itself gave English terrain, territory, terrestrial, terrace, and Mediterranean
The verb 'inter' should not be confused with the prefix 'inter-' (between, among), as in 'international' or 'internet.' They look identical but have different origins. The verb 'inter' (to bury) comes from Latin 'in-' + 'terra' (earth); the prefix 'inter-' comes from Latin 'inter' (between, among). Oneputsthings in the earth; the other
), which derives from a different Latin preposition. The burial sense entered Middle English in the 14th century from Old French ecclesiastical usage, where formal interment