Intermingling

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The process of combining various elements or entities so they become intertwined or blended in a way that alters their individual characteristics
2. An occurrence where different substances or groups begin to mix together, resulting in a new, integrated form or identity
3. The act of mixing diverse components or groups to create a unified entity while losing the distinct individual qualities of each part

Etymology: Intermingling is built from "intermingle" plus the suffix "-ing," and the verb underneath it is itself a compound. "Inter-" comes from Latin, where it meant "between" or "among," while "mingle" is an English verb that goes back to Middle English, when it meant to mix or blend things together, often in a way that made them hard to tell apart. Put together, "intermingle" describes things mixing with one another, and the "-ing" ending turns that action into a noun for the process itself. The "-ing" ending is the one that gives the word its noun sense. Attached to a verb, it names the action or the result of the action, so "intermingling" can mean the whole process of things merging into one another, not just a single moment of contact. Because the suffix works the same way on countless other verbs, the word has a transparent structure: each part tells you what it contributes.

Synonyms: mixing, intertwining, blending

Antonyms: separation, division, segregation