Position of Inter and Intrā

1. Inter may appear after its corresponding object.

• rex inter prīmōs cōnsisterat: he was mad a king among equals.
• mediōs inter hostēs Londinium perrēxit: he pressed on to London amid enemies (enemy ambushes.

2. Except (perhaps?) for metrical purposes, intra will always proceed it’s corresponding object.

• intrā trēs diēs: within three days
• intrā lūcem: before the day was done

The Essential AG: 435

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Some Inter-esting Distinctions

In my last post, I introduced intra, to which I will now compare and contrast intra, a considerably more common and complex preposition, individuated from intra through the following uses.

1. The et double-accusative.

• inter mōns et durum: between a rock and a hard place
• inter tē et mē: between you and me

2. The inter sē construction.

• inter sē loquuntur: they talk amongst themselves
• inter se confērunt: they compare amongst themselves

3. The ‘amid’ construction.

• inter hostium tēla: amid the weapons of the enemies
• inter imbrim: during the rainfall
• prīmus inter parēs: the first among equals

4. The temporal ‘while’ construction (with a gerund)

• inter bibendum: while drinking
• inter agendum: while carrying forward

The Essential AG: 221.15

Compound Verbs with Intrā—

You would think, given the vast tribe of verbal compounds with inter- as a prefix, that a few species of intrā-compounds would also inhabit that wood of the Latin dictionary. In fact, they are highly endangered, perhaps even extinct. Here are a few compound adjectives and nouns that I discovered; the verbs were nowhere to be found.

• intrābilis (adj)—possible to enter
• intrāclusus (adj)—shut in, enclosed
• intrāmeātus, -ūs (n)—a journey within
• intrāmūrānus (adj)—within the walls
• intrāneus (adj)—within

An Intrā-duction

The preposition intrā takes an accusative. It is likely derived from the adjectival feminine adjective singular of inter, intra, intrum (intrā) — an archaic adjective which also produced the corresponding preposition inter.

Intra + accusative is primarily used with a single class of nouns, and denotes a space ‘within which.’

• intrā moenia, within the walls
• intrā me deus est, the Lord is within me
• intrā iactum telī, within a javelin’s throw (denoting distance)

Intra + accusative of time is one ways of denoting the time within something occurred.

• intrā quattuor annōs, within four years
• intrā lucem, before the day was done
• intrā diēs paucōs, within few days (before a few days had passed)
• intrā morae breve tempus, without a moment’s delay

It can also mean less than a given duration or quantity.

• intrā centum fūnera fēcit, he inflicted fewer than 100 casualties
• intrā trēs diēs abiit, he left before three days had passed (compare above)

It can also appear without a direct object.

• ea intrā est, she is within

The Essential AG: 130

Reminder: The Double Comparative with Intrā

This is just a quick reminder (of what I covered briefly in March 2012) that intrā gives rise to one of the few comparative / superlative adjectival pairs that is not derived from an adjective.

• intrā, within —> interior, -ōris, inner —> intimus, a, -um inmost

A&G offer this fascinating footnote:

“The forms in -trā and -terus were originally comparative (cf. alter), so that the comparatives in -terior are double comparatives.” (my emphasis)

• Like this: in + accusative —> intrā + accusative —> interior, -ōris

The Essential AG: 130a