mittent

Mittent is not a commonly used standalone entry in modern English. It is best understood as a root form or morpheme drawn from the Latin stem mittere, meaning “to send,” and appears most prominently within longer words rather than as a word by itself.

Etymology and form: The English verb and adjective system contains several words built from the mit- root, such as transmit, remit, submit, permit, and the word intermittent. The sequence mitt- appears in the stem that underlies these formations. The specific suffix -ent produces adjectives and participial forms, but mittent itself is not typically listed as a separate lexical item in standard dictionaries.

Usage in English: In contemporary usage, mittent is not used independently. It is encountered primarily as part of longer words that include the sense of sending or letting go as part of their historical formation. The most familiar derivative is intermittent, meaning occurring at irregular intervals or not continuous. In medical and historical contexts, related forms like remittent or transmittent occasionally appear, but mittent itself remains uncommon as an isolated term.

Relation to related terms: Mittent is connected to a family of words built from mittere (to send). Transmit, remit, submit, and permit share the same root but differ in prefix and meaning. Intermittent, the principal term that features the mittent sequence, has a distinct definition related to irregular timing rather than a standalone sense of “sending.”

See also: Intermittent, remittent, transmit, remit, submit, permit.