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interlace

[in-ter-leys, in-ter-leys]
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verb (used without object), in·ter·laced, in·ter·lac·ing.
  1. to cross one another, typically passing alternately over and under, as if woven together; intertwine: Their hands interlaced.
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verb (used with object), in·ter·laced, in·ter·lac·ing.
  1. to unite or arrange (threads, strips, parts, branches, etc.) so as to intercross one another, passing alternately over and under; intertwine.
  2. to mingle; blend.
  3. to diversify, as with threads woven in.
  4. to intersperse; intermingle: She interlaced her lecture on Schubert with some of his songs.
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Origin of interlace

1325–75; inter- + lace; replacing Middle English entrelacen < Middle French en-trelacer
Related formsin·ter·lac·ed·ly [in-ter-ley-sid-lee] /ˌɪn tərˈleɪ sɪd li/, adverbin·ter·lace·ment, nounun·in·ter·laced, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

interweavetwineentwinealternatemixbraidknitweave

Examples from the Web for interlace

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It made her interlace her fingers with nervous anxiety, but it set a fire in her eyes.

  • To interlace these is the crowning achievement of political science.

  • To interlace a story with glass and with rope with color and roam.

    Geography and Plays

    Gertrude Stein

  • They interpenetrate, interlace, correspond with and embrace each other.

  • Note the large fibers in the ligament, which branch and interlace.

    A Practical Physiology

    Albert F. Blaisdell

British Dictionary definitions for interlace

interlace

verb
  1. to join together (patterns, fingers, etc) by crossing, as if woven; intertwine
  2. (tr) to mingle or blend in an intricate way
  3. (tr usually foll by with) to change the pattern of; diversify; intersperseto interlace a speech with humour
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Derived Formsinterlacedly (ˌɪntəˈleɪsɪdlɪ), adverbinterlacement, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for interlace

v.

late 14c., from Middle French entrelacer, from entre- (see entre-) + lacer (see lace). Television sense is from 1927. Related: Interlaced; interlacing. The noun is 1904, from the verb.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper