interlude

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
interlude/ˈɪntəluːd/

▶noun

• 1 an intervening period of time.

  ■ a pause between the acts of a play.

• 2 a thing occurring or done during an interval.

  ■ a piece of music played between other pieces or between the verses of a hymn.

• 3 a temporary amusement or diversion: a romantic interlude.

– origin ME: from med. L. interludium, from inter- ‘between’ + ludus ‘play’.