Interstate

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntɚˌsteɪt/

Definitions

1. A system of transportation routes that link various regions within a nation
2. A network of roadways meant to enable efficient travel and transport among different states
3. Relating to activities or matters that occur across state boundaries ; a principal road designed to facilitate long-distance travel between states

Etymology: "Interstate" is one of those words whose history is almost entirely in its parts. It is formed from the prefix "inter-", meaning "between" or "among," and the English noun "state," so the literal sense is "between states." Its first and most important use was as an adjective, describing things that cross or involve the boundaries separating political units, and that is still its core job: interstate commerce, interstate travel, or a dispute between two states. The noun most people now picture when they hear the word came later, and it came by shortening. "Interstate" was used as a noun in the sense of an interstate highway, a road linking one state to another, and the phrase was clipped, so the adjective alone came to stand for the whole road. This is why the word is also used attributively in phrases like "interstate construction" and "interstate rest stops," where it functions as a modifier of a following noun rather than as a predicate adjective.

Synonyms: national, federal