Interims

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A temporary arrangement or solution that serves as a placeholder until a more permanent decision is made
2. A provisional period or plan that occurs between two events or situations, often to fill a gap
3. A brief phase or interim measure intended to manage a transition between established states or functions

Etymology: "Interims" is the plural of "interim," a noun for a temporary arrangement held in place until something permanent is settled. The base word comes from Latin, where "interim" was an adverb meaning "meanwhile," built from "inter" ("between") and a suffix that is not fully settled among etymologists. The sense of a provisional arrangement has a specific source in sixteenth-century religious conflict. In 1548, during the Reformation, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V imposed the Augsburg Interim, a temporary compromise on doctrine and worship that was meant to hold until a church council could settle the disputes. Its name, Latin for "meanwhile," made the word a label for any stopgap that stands in for a lasting decision. English took the word from Latin in the sixteenth century, where it first functioned as an adverb, and the noun use developed later.

Synonyms: temporaries, intermediate periods

Antonyms: permanents