Internet

See also: Appendix:Variations of "internet"

English

Alternative forms

• internet (see Usage notes below)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér

Proto-Italic *ənter

Latin inter

Latin inter-bor.

English inter-

Proto-Indo-European *neHd-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Germanic *natją

Proto-West Germanic *nati

Old English nett

Middle English net

English net

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

Proto-Germanic *werką

Proto-West Germanic *werk

Old English weorc

Middle English werk

English work

English network

English internetwork

English Internet

Coined by the U.S. Defense Department in 1986. Shortening of internetwork.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɪntəˌnɛt/
• (US) enPR: ĭnʹtərnĕt', IPA^(key): /ˈɪn(t)ɚˌnɛt/, [ˈɪɾ̃ɚˌnɛt]

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Inter‧net
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Proper noun

A map of undersea cables as of 2015, which form a vital part of the Internet backbone.

the Internet

2. The global, decentralized network of computers which communicate with one another using the Internet protocol suite, which now forms a vital part of global communication, content sharing, and information exchange systems.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:Internet

   • 2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreword", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xi

     [I]f you think the Internet existed in 1970, I can only guess that the education system has left at least one child behind.

3. (by extension, informal) The global community of individuals communicating via the Internet.
   • 2000 March 8, 32:26 from the start, in Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China‎^[1], spoken by Bill Clinton, via C-SPAN, retrieved 17 June 2025:

     We know how much the Internet has changed America. And we are already an open society. Imagine how much it could change China. Now, there is no question – China has been trying to crack down on the Internet. Good luck. That's sort of like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.

   • 2024 November 4, Kate Lindsay, “Can We Please Not Politicize Peanut's Death?”, in Vulture‎^[2], archived from the original on 24 November 2024:

     Not to be confused with the Josh Hutcherson Saturday Night Live sketch that's almost impossible to find online, the tragedy of Peanut, an Instagram-famous squirrel that was euthanized late last month, has sent the internet into mourning.

Usage notes

• When referring to the global internet, the proper noun was originally usually capitalised (Internet), reserving internet with a lowercase i for the common noun, referring to any other set of computer networks connected by internetworking; however, increasingly, the proper noun sense also takes a lowercase i. Compare similar examples in how the proper names for the Sun (the sun), the Moon (the moon), the Universe (the universe), and the World (the world) are variably capitalized in English orthography.
• The internet, the World Wide Web (the Web, the web), and cyberspace are often loosely treated as synonymous, but in careful usage, each of those terms has a more precise meaning, overlapping in a semantic field.

Derived terms

• break the Internet
• dead Internet theory
• internet checkpoint
• Internet feed
• Internet of Everything
• Internet of Things
• internet pitstop
• Internet Protocol
• Internet radio
• Internet service provider
• Munchausen by Internet
• Swatch Internet Time
• the Internet never forgets

Related terms

• extranet
• intranet

Translations

specific internet consisting of the global network of computers

• Abkhaz: аинтерҳа (ajntʼerḥa)
• Afrikaans: Internet (af)
• Albanian: ndërrjet m, internet m
• American Sign Language: Open8@Finger-TipUp-Open8@CenterChesthigh-TipUp Twist-Twist
• Amharic: ኢንተርኔት (ʾintärnet)
• Antillean Creole: entènèt
• Arabic: إِنْتَرْنَت (ar) m (ʔintarnat), شُبَّاكَة m (šubbāka)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܦܪܵܣܢܵܘܠܵܐ m (prāsnāwlā), ܐܝܼܢܛܲܪܢܹܛ m (īnṭarnēṭ)

• Armenian: ինտերնետ (hy) (internet), (somewhat formal) համացանց (hamacʻancʻ)
• Assamese: ইণ্টাৰনেট (intaronet)
• Azerbaijani: internet
• Bashkir: интернет (internet)
• Basque: Internet, Sare
• Belarusian: інтэрнэ́т m (internét)
• Bengali: আন্তর্জাল (bn) (antorjal), ইন্টারনেট (bn) (inṭarneṭ)
• Breton: kenrouedad (br) f
• Bulgarian: И́нтернет m (Ínternet), Мре́жата f (Mréžata) (definite)
• Burmese: အင်တာနက် (my) (angtanak)
• Carpathian Rusyn: інтерне́т m (internét)
• Catalan: Internet (ca) f, xarxa (ca) f
• Cherokee: ᎠᏏᎳᏕᏫᏒᎢ (asiladewisvi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 互聯網 / 互联网 (wu⁶ lyun⁴ mong⁵), 網際網絡 / 网际网络 (mong⁵ zai³ mong⁵ lok⁶)

  Mandarin: 互聯網 / 互联网 (zh) (hùliánwǎng), 網絡 / 网络 (zh) (wǎngluò) (PRC), 網路 / 网路 (zh) (wǎnglù) (Taiwan), 因特網 / 因特网 (zh) (Yīntèwǎng), 網際網路 / 网际网路 (zh) (wǎngjì wǎnglù) (Taiwan)

• Chukchi: интернет (internet)
• Chuvash: тетел (tet̬el), интернет (int̬ernet)
• Cornish: kesrosweyth
• Corsican: Internet f
• Czech: Internet (cs) m
• Danish: internet (da) n
• Dinka: Arekwël
• Dusun:

  Central Dusun: internet

• Dutch: internet (nl) n
• Emilian: raid däl raid
• Esperanto: Interreto, reto (eo) (short form), interreta (attributive)
• Estonian: internet (et), Internet (et), nett (et), veeb, võrk
• Faroese: Alnetið n, Internet
• Finnish: Internet (fi), netti (fi)
• French: Internet (fr) m
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: ynternet

• Galician: Internet f
• Georgian: ინტერნეტი (inṭerneṭi), ქსელი (ka) (kseli)
• German: Netz (de) n, Internet (de) n

  Central Franconian: Engornät

• Greek: Διαδίκτυο n (Diadíktyo), διαδίκτυο (el) n (diadíktyo), ίντερνετ (el) n (ínternet)
• Guarani:

  Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} Ñanduti Guasu, ^{(please verify)} Momarandu Ñanduti

• Gujarati: આંતરજાળ (āntarjāḷ)
• Haitian Creole: entènèt
• Hausa: yanar gizo
• Hebrew: מִרְשֶׁתֶת (he) f (mirshétet), אִינְטֶרְנֶט (he) m (internet)
• Hindi: अंतर्जाल (antarjāl), इन्टरनेट m (inṭarneṭ)
• Hungarian: internet (hu), világháló (hu)
• Hunsrik: Internet n
• Icelandic: Veraldarvefurinn m, Internet (is) n, netið n
• Ido: Internet (io), Interreto (io), reto (io) (short form)
• Indonesian: Internet
• Interlingua: Internet
• Inuktitut: ᖃᕆᓴᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ (qarisaoyakkot titiraqsimayot)
• Irish: Idirlíon (ga) m
• Italian: Internet (it) f
• Jamaican Creole: Intanet
• Japanese: インターネット (ja) (intānetto), ネット (ja) (netto)
• Kalmyk: сүлҗән (süljän)
• Kannada: ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ (kn) (antarjāla), ಮಿಂಬಲೆ (kn) (mimbale)
• Kazakh: интернет (internet)
• Khmer: អ៊ីនធឺណិត (ʼiinthɨɨnət), អន្តរៈបណ្ដាញ (ʼɑntaʼraʼbɑndaañ)
• Korean: 인터넷 (ko) (inteonet) (South Korea); 인터네트 (ko) (inteoneteu) (North Korea), 넷 (ko) (net), (rare) 누리망(網) (nurimang)
• Kyrgyz: интернет (ky) (internet)
• Lao: ອິນເຕີເນັດ (ʼin tœ̄ net)
• Latgalian: škārsteiklys
• Latin: interrete n
• Latvian: internets m, starptīkls m
• Lithuanian: internetas m, žiniatinklis m
• Low German:

  Dutch Low Saxon: draod, internet

  German Low German: Internet n (from English), Internett n, Nett n (short form)

• Macedonian: интернет m (internet), семрежје (mk) m (semrežje)
• Malay: Internet
• Malayalam: ഇന്റർനെറ്റ് (ml) (inṟaṟneṟṟŭ)
• Manx: Eddyr-voggyl
• Māori: ipurangi
• Marathi: आंतरजाल (āntarjāl), इंटरनेट (mr) n (iṇṭarneṭ)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: интернет (interńet)

• Mirandese: Anternete
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: интернэт (mn) (internet)

  Mongolian script: ᠢᠨ᠋ᠲ᠋ᠧᠷᠨᠧᠲ (intērnēt)

• Navajo: Béésh Łichíiʼii Bee Ééhoozinígíí, hiiłos
• Nepali: अन्तरजाल (antarjāl), इन्टरनेट (ne) (inṭarneṭ)
• Norman: Enternette
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: internett (no) n, Internett (no) n, nettet n (short form, with the definite article)

  Nynorsk: internett n, Internett n, nettet n (short form, with the definite article)

• Odia: ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ (iṇṭaraneṭa)
• Pashto: انټرنېټ m (inṭarneṭ)
• Persian:

  Dari: اِنْتَرْنیت (intarnēt)

  Iranian Persian: اینْتِرْنِت (internet)

• Piedmontese: Ragnà
• Plautdietsch: Internet n
• Polish: Internet (pl) m, międzysieć, Sieć (pl) f (colloquial)
• Portuguese: Internet (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਇੰਟਰਨੈੱਟ (pa) (iṇṭarnaiṭṭa)
• Quechua: T'inkinakusqa llikakuna
• Romagnol: raid däl raid
• Romanian: Internet (ro) n, net (ro) n
• Russian: интерне́т (ru) m (intɛrnɛ́t), сеть (ru) (setʹ) (informal)
• Sango: Gbândasango
• Sanskrit: अन्तर्जाल n (antarjāla)
• Santali: ᱚᱱᱛᱚᱨ ᱡᱟᱞᱟᱢ (ôntôr jalam)
• Scottish Gaelic: eadar-lìon m, Eadar-lìon m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: и̏нтернет m

  Latin: ȉnternet m

• Silesian: mjyndzynec m, internec m
• Sinhalese: අන්තර්ජාලය (si) (antarjālaya)
• Slovak: sieť f (informal), Internet m
• Slovene: medmrežje n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: Internet m

  Upper Sorbian: Internet m

• Spanish: internet (es) m or f, red (es) f
• Swahili: intaneti (sw)
• Swedish: Internet (sv) n, nätet (sv) n (definite), internet (sv) n
• Tagalog: Internet
• Tajik: интернет (tg) (internet)
• Tamil: இணையம் (ta) (iṇaiyam), இன்டர்நெட் (iṉṭarneṭ)
• Tatar: пәрәвез (tt) (päräwez), интернет (internet)
• Telugu: ఇంటర్నెట్ (iṇṭarneṭ), అంతర్జాలము (te) (antarjālamu)
• Thai: อินเทอร์เน็ต (th) (in-təə-nèt)
• Tibetan: ཀུག་ཁུག་གུག་ངུག (kug khug gug ngug)
• Tigrinya: ኢንተርነት (ʾintärnät), መርበብ (ti) (märbäb)
• Turkish: İnternet (tr), genel ağ (tr)
• Turkmen: internet
• Udmurt: вотэс (votes)
• Ukrainian: інтерне́т m (internét)
• Urdu: اِنْٹَرْنیٹ f (inṭarneṭ), شَبَکَہ f (śabaka)
• Uyghur: ئىنتېرنېت (intërnët)
• Uzbek: internet (uz)
• Vietnamese: in-tơ-nét, mạng toàn cầu, liên mạng (vi), mạng (vi)
• Volapük: bevüresod, vüresod (short form), Bevüresod, Vüresod (short form)
• Võro: ilmavõrk
• Walloon: etrernete (wa)
• Welsh: rhyngrwyd (cy) f
• Xibe: ᡞᠨᡨᡝ
  ᠨᡝᠷᡨᡝ (inte nerte), ᡞᠨ
  ᡨᡝ
  ᠸᠠᡢ
  ᠠᠰᡠᠷᠠᠨ (in te wang asuran)
• Yiddish: אינטערנעץ f (internets), אינטערנעט f (internet)
• Zhuang: hulenzvangj, vangjdoxlienz

References

• Internet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• renitent

Afrikaans

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Internet (uncountable)

1. the Internet

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Proper noun

Internet m

1. Internet

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.tərˌnɛt/
• Hyphenation: In‧ter‧net

Proper noun

Internet n

1. superseded spelling of internet

Finnish

Alternative forms

• internet

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈint(ː)ernet/, [ˈin̪t̪(ː)e̞rne̞t̪]
• Rhymes: -internet
• Syllabification^(key): In‧ter‧net
• Hyphenation^(key): In‧ter‧net

Proper noun

Internet

1. (Internet) the Internet

Declension

Inflection of Internet (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		Internet	—
genitive		Internetin	—
partitive		Internetiä	—
illative		Internetiin	—
		singular	plural
nominative		Internet	—
accusative	nom.	Internet	—
	gen.	Internetin
genitive		Internetin	—
partitive		Internetiä	—
inessive		Internetissä	—
elative		Internetistä	—
illative		Internetiin	—
adessive		Internetillä	—
ablative		Internetiltä	—
allative		Internetille	—
essive		Internetinä	—
translative		Internetiksi	—
abessive		Internetittä	—
instructive		—	—
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of Internet (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Internetini — accusative nom. Internetini — gen. Internetini genitive Internetini — partitive Internetiäni — inessive Internetissäni — elative Internetistäni — illative Internetiini — adessive Internetilläni — ablative Internetiltäni — allative Internetilleni — essive Internetinäni — translative Internetikseni — abessive Internetittäni — instructive — — comitative — — second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Internetisi — accusative nom. Internetisi — gen. Internetisi genitive Internetisi — partitive Internetiäsi — inessive Internetissäsi — elative Internetistäsi — illative Internetiisi — adessive Internetilläsi — ablative Internetiltäsi — allative Internetillesi — essive Internetinäsi — translative Internetiksesi — abessive Internetittäsi — instructive — — comitative — — first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Internetimme — accusative nom. Internetimme — gen. Internetimme genitive Internetimme — partitive Internetiämme — inessive Internetissämme — elative Internetistämme — illative Internetiimme — adessive Internetillämme — ablative Internetiltämme — allative Internetillemme — essive Internetinämme — translative Internetiksemme — abessive Internetittämme — instructive — — comitative — — second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Internetinne — accusative nom. Internetinne — gen. Internetinne genitive Internetinne — partitive Internetiänne — inessive Internetissänne — elative Internetistänne — illative Internetiinne — adessive Internetillänne — ablative Internetiltänne — allative Internetillenne — essive Internetinänne — translative Internetiksenne — abessive Internetittänne — instructive — — comitative — — third-person possessor singular plural nominative Internetinsä — accusative nom. Internetinsä — gen. Internetinsä genitive Internetinsä — partitive Internetiään Internetiänsä — inessive Internetissään Internetissänsä — elative Internetistään Internetistänsä — illative Internetiinsä — adessive Internetillään Internetillänsä — ablative Internetiltään Internetiltänsä — allative Internetilleen Internetillensä — essive Internetinään Internetinänsä — translative Internetikseen Internetiksensä — abessive Internetittään Internetittänsä — instructive — — comitative — —

Synonyms

• netti
• (imprecisely) verkko (“Web”), www
• (colloquially, imprecisely) veppi, weppi, webbi

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.tɛʁ.nɛt/

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Internet m

1. the Internet

   Synonyms: internet, Net

Usage notes

Generally used without the definite article in French, unlike English; thus "on the Internet" in French is sur Internet.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪntɐnɛt/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Internet n (strong, genitive Internets or Internet, no plural)

1. internet

Usage notes

• While the genitive Internet is often seen, the more Germanic Internets is more frequently used. For example:

  Der Einfluss des Internets nimmt weiter zu.

  The influence of the internet continues to grow.

Declension

Declension of Internet [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Internet
genitive	eines	des	Internets, Internet
dative	einem	dem	Internet
accusative	ein	das	Internet

Derived terms

• Internet der Dinge

Further reading

• “Internet” in Duden online
• “Internet”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[3] (in German)

Hunsrik

Etymology

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /intəˈnet/
• Rhymes: -et
• Syllabification: In‧ter‧net

Noun

Internet n

1. Internet (the global network of computers)

   Ich hon’s im Internet gesihn.

   I've seen it on the internet.

2. internet (Internet access or connection)

References

• Boll, Piter Kehoma (2021), “Internet”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português, 3rd edition (overall work in Portuguese), Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 83, column 1

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪn̥tɛrˌnɛːt/

Proper noun

Internet n (proper noun, genitive singular Internets)

1. (usually definite) the Internet

   Synonyms: net, alnet, lýðnet

Declension

Declension of Internet (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	Internet	Internetið
accusative	Internet	Internetið
dative	Interneti	Internetinu
genitive	Internets	Internetsins

See also

• veraldarvefur (“World Wide Web”)

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈin.ter.net/, /in.terˈnɛt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -internet, -ɛt
• Hyphenation: Ìn‧ter‧net, In‧ter‧nèt

Noun

Internet f (invariable)

1. alternative form of internet

Anagrams

• nitrente, trentine

Plautdietsch

Noun

Internet n

1. Internet

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér

Proto-Italic *ənter

Latin inter

Latin inter-bor.

English inter-

Proto-Indo-European *neHd-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Germanic *natją

Proto-West Germanic *nati

Old English nett

Middle English net

English net

Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

Proto-Germanic *werką

Proto-West Germanic *werk

Old English weorc

Middle English werk

English work

English network

English internetwork

English Internetbor.

Polish Internet

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˈtɛr.nɛt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrnɛt
• Syllabification: In‧ter‧net

Proper noun

Internet m inan

1. the Internet

Declension

Declension of Internet

	singular
nominative	Internet
genitive	Internetu
dative	Internetowi
accusative	Internet
instrumental	Internetem
locative	Internecie
vocative	Internecie

Derived terms

adjective

• internetowy

Further reading

• “Internet”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[4] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “Internet”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[5] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• internet

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Internet.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾˈnɛ.t͡ʃi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾˈnɛ.t͡ʃi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾˈnɛ.te/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.tɛɾˈnɛ.tɨ/

Proper noun

Internet f

1. World Wide Web (an information space on the Internet)

   Synonyms: web, rede, net

2. Internet (specific internet consisting of the global network of computers)

Related terms

• internauta
• internetês

Descendants

• → Hunsrik: Internet

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /înternet/
• Hyphenation: In‧ter‧net

Proper noun

Ȉnternet m animacy unspecified (Cyrillic spelling И̏нтернет)

1. Internet

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Noun

Internet m or f same meaning (uncountable)

1. alternative letter-case form of internet
   • 2015 August 11, Hope King, “Verizon quiere hacer que el internet sea 1.000 veces más rápido”, in CNN en Español‎^[6]:

     Recientemente, Comcast acaba de empezar a ofrecer el Internet más rápido del país a 2 gigabits por segundo el mes pasado.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Internet.

Proper noun

Internet n (genitive Internets)

1. the (global) Internet