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intermission

 [in-ter-mish-uhn]   Example Sentences Origin

in·ter·mis·sion

   [in-ter-mish-uhn]
noun
1.
a short interval between the acts of a play or parts of a public performance, usually a period of approximately 10 or 15 minutes, allowing the performers and audience a rest.
2.
a period during which action temporarily ceases; an interval between periods of action or activity: They studied for hours without an intermission.
3.
the act or fact of intermitting; state of being intermitted: to work without intermission.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin intermissiōn- (stem of intermissiō) interruption, equivalent to intermiss(us) (past participle of intermittere to intermit) + -iōn- -ion
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Intermission is a GRE word you need to know.
So is intermit. Does it mean:
to come between disputing people
to discontinue temporarily
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Example Sentences
  • About midnight there was an intermission in the music, presumably for supper.
  • It turned out to be a false alarm, but the inadvertent early intermission lasted about half an hour while the hall was inspected.
  • At the theater, the intermission crowd gave her a wide berth.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
intermission (ˌɪntəˈmɪʃən)
 
—n
1.  an interval, as between parts of a film
2.  a period between events or activities; pause
3.  the act of intermitting or the state of being intermitted
 
[C16: from Latin intermissiō, from intermittere to leave off, intermit]
 
inter'missive
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

intermission
1426, from L. intermissionem (nom. intermissio) "interruption," from intermissus, pp. of intermittere "to leave off," from inter- "between" + mittere "let go, send."
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"Intermission is used in U.S. for what we call an interval (in a musical or dramatic performance). Under the influence of LOVE OF THE LONG WORD, it is beginning to infiltrate here and should be repelled; our own word does very well." [H.W. Fowler, "Modern English Usage," 1926]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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