Meddles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To involve oneself in the business or concerns of others without being asked or welcome
2. To interfere in a situation or other people's matters in an unwanted or intrusive way
3. To intrude or become involved in something that does not concern oneself, often causing disruption

Etymology: "Meddles" is the third-person singular form of "meddle," so the core story belongs to the verb itself. "Meddle" began as a verb meaning to mix, and its root is the Latin "misceo," which carries the same sense. Early Medieval Latin formed "misculare" from that root, and Anglo-Norman passed it along as "medler," which reached Middle English as "medlen." The sense of mixing narrowed over time into the sense of mixing oneself into other people's business. That shift is the heart of the word: a verb about combining substances came to describe an intrusion into someone else's affairs, a meaning that is already the one you see in "meddles" today.

Synonyms: interferes, intrudes, intervenes

Antonyms: avoids, ignores