Interwoven

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntəɹwəʊvən/

Definitions

1. Elements that are twisted together show a connection between various parts
2. Components that are woven together form a cohesive whole that reflects their interdependence
3. Describes items or ideas intricately connected by being woven together to create a unified structure

Etymology: The past participle of "interweave" tells you most of what you need: the verb is built from "inter-", meaning "between" or "among", and "weave", the familiar Old English word for making cloth by crossing threads over and under one another. Put together, the sense is literal and physical, threads passing among one another until the separate strands form a single fabric. "Interweave" was formed in English by attaching the prefix to an existing verb, so the English coinage is simple even though the prefix itself traces back through Latin "inter" to much older roots. The figurative sense followed naturally. Once a writer could describe cloth in which threads were crossed through one another, it was easy to apply the same picture to stories, lives, or arguments that have been bound together so thoroughly that they can no longer be pulled apart. The adjective "interwoven" describes exactly this state: the parts are not merely placed side by side but run through one another as a single structure.

Synonyms: interlaced, woven, entwined, interlaced, interlaced