Intranet

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntɹəˌnɛt/

Definitions

1. A specialized digital network that uses Internet standards for secure information sharing within a particular organization
2. A restricted network that operates like the internet but serves only a specific company or group
3. A secure communication system using internet technology for sharing resources inside an organization

Etymology: The word is a clipping-free blend of two parts: "intra-", a Latin prefix meaning "within" or "inside," and "net," the familiar English word for a network of connected computers. Together they name a company's private network, one that works like the internet but is walled off for internal use. The prefix has a long pedigree of its own, coming from a Latin form related to "inter," meaning "between," and the same root shows up in "interior" and "interval." Because "intra-" is a prefix, the new coinage was built from parts that were already familiar, which explains why the term needed no introduction. "Net" traces back through Old English "nett," a word for a woven mesh or snare, to Proto-Germanic roots tied to the idea of knotting cord. Computing borrowed the old fishing and hunting image of a mesh that catches things and applied it to linked machines. The internet itself gave the suffix its meaning, and the prefix quietly marked the boundary.

Synonyms: internal network, private network

Antonyms: internet