intermell

Etymology

From Old French entremeller.

Why this word is great

INTERMELL — [Verb] To mix together or interfere in the affairs of others. From Old French entremeller, from entre- ("between") + meller ("to mix"). Unlike "intermingle" (which suggests a gentle, harmonious blending) or "meddle" (which carries the sour tang of intrusion), "intermell" occupies a middle ground—sometimes neutral, sometimes slyly disruptive. It is the neighbor who drops by unannounced with a casserole and stays to rearrange your bookshelves, the way rain and wind conspire to blur the edges of a chalk drawing, or the quiet, inevitable seep of gossip into a closed community—a reminder that no interaction is ever purely benign.

verb

  1. To mix together, intermeddle, intermix.“The lyfe of this wretched world whiche is alway entermelled with moche bitternes.”
  2. To concern oneself with; to interfere.“As for the reſt, to ſnort in belly cheere, / To bite, to gnaw, and boldly intermell / With ſacred things, in which thou doſt excell, / Vnforc'd he'le doe.”