▪ I. † inteˈrrupt, ppl. a. Obs.
Also 5 inteript, 6 -repte.
[a. OF. interrupt, ad. L. interrupt-us, pa. pple of interrumpĕre: see next.]
Interrupted, in various senses: see the verb. In quot. 1667, Forming an interval or breach between two parts of something. Usually construed as pa. pple.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. xxix. (MS. Digby 230) lf. 130/2 Free eleccioun Not interrupte by mediacioun Of brocage. c 1450 Merlin 105 Ne therfore shull ye nothynge be inteript. ? a 1500 Colyn Blowbols Test. 206 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 102, I wold they shold for no thing Be interupt of their possessouns. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) iv. xxiii. E e iij, Such wyll may be interrepte [se peut interrompre] and deuysed in many maners. 1549 Latimer 4th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 122 Prayer is neuer interrupte but by wickednes. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 84 Our adversarie, whom no bounds Prescrib'd, no barrs of Hell..nor yet the main abyss Wide interrupt, can hold. |
▪ II. interrupt, v.
(ɪntəˈrʌpt)
Also 5 interepte, interipte, intrippe, 6 interrup(p)e; pa. tense 5 enterrupte, interrupte, 6 (Sc.) interup.
[f. L. interrupt-, ppl. stem of interrump-ĕre to break asunder, break off (a speech or the like), f. inter between + rumpĕre to break: cf. corrupt.
With the form interrup, -uppe, cf. corrup, -uppe.]
1. trans. To break in upon (an action, process, or condition, esp. speech or discourse); to break the continuity of (something) in time; to break off, to hinder the course or continuance of, cause to cease or stop (usually temporarily).
| a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1231 For as moche as it nat to me sit, Your tale for to interrupte or breke. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 257 Who made you so bolde to interrupe my tale? 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 35, I wyl not interrupt your communycatyon now in the myddys. 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner D ij, They hinder, disturbe, and interrupt the course..of other mens matters. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 18 Not one of us but had his sleepe interrupted by fearfull dreames. 1673 Temple United Prov. i. 5 Flanders was erected into a County, which changed the Title of Forester for that of Count, without interrupting the Succession. 1783 Watson Philip III, ii. (1839) 103 The army of the states was at hand to interrupt his operations. 1838 James Robber iv, Do not let anything which has passed to-day interrupt our friendship. 1861 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 471/2 The acts whereby..prescriptions may be legally interrupted, and in effect put an end to. |
b. To break the continuity of (something) in space or serial order; to make an interval or breach between the parts of (something continuous); to stand in the way of, obstruct (e.g. a view).
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §41 There being neither Tree nor Bush to interrupt his Charge. 1679 Owen Christologia vi. (1831) 65 As a beam interrupted from its continuity unto the sun is immediately deprived of light. 1774 Pennant Tour Scotl. in 1772, 166 The land is so interrupted with rocks, that the natives, instead of the plough are obliged to make use of the spade. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho i, They interrupt my prospects. |
2. To break in upon (a person) while doing something, esp. speaking; to hinder from proceeding with some action; to cause to stop (usually temporarily) in what one is doing.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle i. xvi. (1859) 17 There roose vp soone a lady and enterrupte me of my wordes. c 1430 ? Lydg. Stans. Puer 69 (Lamb. MS. 853) Intrippe no man where so þat þou wende, No man in his tale [1450–60 MS. Harl. 2251 Interrupt nat..None other mans tale]. 1578 T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 40 The poore Indians durst not once interrupt them. 1639 T. Brugis tr. Camus' Mor. Relat. 302 It were a grosse incivility to interrupt them in their conversation. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 45 ¶8 Florio, who never interrupted any Man living when he was speaking. 1887 Ruskin Præterita II. xii. 421, I could not bear being interrupted in anything I was about. |
3. absol. or intr. (from 1 or 2). (Also quasi-trans. with the words spoken as object = to say in interruption.)
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy v. xxxviii, (MS. Digby 230) lf. 188 b/2 Ther shal no man reclayme ne sei nay, Interrupte ne make no delay. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 512 As one who sought access, but feard To interrupt, side-long he works his way. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxv, ‘Ay, truly’, interrupted the glover; ‘and I so counselled and commanded thee’. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 220 By Zeus, said Ctesippus, interrupting, I only wish that you would give me some proof. Ibid. 224 Please not to interrupt, my good friend. |
† 4. trans. To hinder, stop, prevent, thwart. a. an action, etc. Obs.
| 1497 Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. B iij, This holy ghost interrupte this desyre, and apperyd. 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 242 b, To the onely intent, that the mariage should herafter, neither be interrupted nor broken. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 141 The neighbours would have been awaked, and so the execution of their designes interrupted. |
† b. a person, etc., in or from some action. Const. of or with inf. Obs.
| 1464 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 184, I schal nat interepte heme deweryng is lyffe. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. xiii. 41 Ther is noman that coude interrupte hym of ony thing that he wolde preue. 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. (Arb.) 102 To interrupt them of their due function. 1624 Bp. Hall Hon. Mar. Clergy Ded., Satan enuying me this happinesse, interrupts me by the malice of an importunate Aduersarie. |
† 5. To infringe, suspend (a law). Obs.
| 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas iv. v. (1554) 103 b, Al their statutes by which thei were made fre He interrupted of force and not of right. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxxiii. 536 God created nature, and hath giuen it a Lawe, which Law he wil haue it to follow. Neuertheless somtimes..he interrupteth it,..to make vs to know y{supt} he is Lord of nature. |
† 6. To cut short, put an end to, destroy. Obs.
| 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xx. 176 The Cup, Quhairwith oft tymes, for saikles crymes, Mennis lyues he Interup. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 686 So soon as a great Crocodile is discovered, there is such watch and care taken to interrupt and kill him for hope of the reward, that he cannot long escape alive. |
▪ III. interrupt, n. Computing.
(ɪntəˈrʌpt)
[f. the vb.]
1. The action (usu. automatic) of interrupting the execution of a program as a result of the need for the immediate execution of another program, after which the original program is automatically resumed.
| 1957 Computers & Automation VI. 17/2 The interrupt feature of the 1103A will no doubt be embodied in many future computers. 1967 Technology Week 23 Jan. 11/1 (Advt.), Sigma 5 can deal with foreground real-time interrupts in 6 microseconds. 1969 P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 257 Some interrupts are initiated by the computer operator when he wants to give a command, or by a remote user who wishes to request service. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing vi. 106 In older computers, the response to an error discovered by the built-in checks was usually to stop... In modern machines, the response usually is an interrupt..which automatically gives a branch to a special routine for analyzing and, if possible, correcting the error. Ibid. ix. 126 During these time intervals, the computer can run a background program which is not a real-time job. When a transaction has been input, perhaps over a telecommunication line, an interrupt signal causes the CPU to hand over control to the real-time program. When the transaction is dealt with.., a return jump to background takes place. |
2. Special Comb.: interrupt handler, a routine that deals with interrupts and returns control to the main program afterwards; so interrupt handling vbl. n.
| [1963 Information Processing Jrnl. II. 209/2 The IBM 7070 STRETCH machine requires, by its speed and design, some resident routine, monitor, or interruption handler.] 1966 Proc. IEEE LIV. 1812 (heading) A method of processor selection for interrupt handling in a multiprocessor system. 1978 H. Lorin in J. Belzer et al. Encycl. Computer Sci. & Technol. XI. 399 The function of the interrupt handler is to save the registers and other status information about the interrupted program..so that the program can be resumed at its point of disruption at some time in the future. 1982 P. E. Burton Dict. Minicomputing & Microcomputing 139 The interrupt handler processes interrupt signals from peripheral devices and resolves contentions for the services of the cpu. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 169/3 Probably the most surprising and most useful..is when, which incorporates interrupt-handling into a program. |