interlocutor

English

Alternative forms

• interlocutour (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntəˈlɒkjʊtə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təɹˈlɑk.jə.təɹ/, /ˌɪn.təɹˈlɑ.kə.təɹ/, /ˌɪn.təɹˈlɑk.ju.təɹ/

Etymology 1

A noun-form of Latin interloquor (“speak between, issue an interlocutory decree”), from inter- + loquor (“speak”).

Noun

interlocutor (plural interlocutors)

1. A person who takes part in dialogue or conversation.
   • 1894, Calvin Thomas, “The Teacher's Outfit in German”, in The School Review, volume 2, number 7, page 406:

     Explanations which continually remind one's interlocutor of one's ignorance are a great damper upon the easy flow of talk.

2. A man in the middle of the line in a minstrel show who questions the end men and acts as leader.
   • 1991, Maureen Costonis, “Martha Graham's American Document: A Minstrel Show in Modern Dance Dress”, in American Music, volume 9, number 3, page 299:

     The "interlocutor" greeted the audience and engaged in comical repartee with the "end men," named Tambo and Bones.

3. (law) An interlocutory judgement or sentence.

Synonyms

• (a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation): converser, conversant, conversationalist, conversational partner, collocutor

Related terms

Terms related to interlocutor

• interlocution
• interlocutorily
• interlocutory
• interlocutress
• interlocutrice
• interlocutrix

Translations

a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation

• Armenian: զրուցակից (hy) (zrucʿakicʿ), խոսակից (hy) (xosakicʿ)
• Azerbaijani: həmsöhbət
• Belarusian: суразмо́ўца m (surazmóŭca), размо́ўца m (razmóŭca), субясе́днік m (subjasjédnik), субясе́дніца f (subjasjédnica)
• Bulgarian: събесе́дник (bg) m (sǎbesédnik), събесе́дничка f (sǎbesédnička), събесе́дница f (sǎbesédnica)
• Catalan: interlocutor m, interlocutora f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 對話者／对话者 (duìhuàzhě), 對談者／对谈者 (duìtánzhě)

• Danish: samtalepartner c
• Dutch: gesprekspartner (nl) m
• Faroese: samtalufelagi m
• Finnish: keskustelutoveri, keskustelukumppani
• French: interlocuteur (fr) m, interlocutrice (fr) f
• Galician: interlocutor m
• Georgian: თანამოსაუბრე (tanamosaubre), მოსაუბრე (mosaubre)
• German: Gesprächspartner (de) m, Gesprächspartnerin (de) f
• Greek: συνομιλητής (el) m (synomilitís)
• Hebrew: בן־שיח‎ m, בת־שיח‎ f
• Hindi: सामनेवाला m (sāmnevālā), सामनेवाली f (sāmnevālī), बात करनेवाला m (bāt karnevālā), बात करनेवाली f (bāt karnevālī)
• Hungarian: beszélgetőpartner (hu), beszélgetőtárs (hu)
• Icelandic: viðmælandi m
• Indonesian: lawan bicara
• Italian: interlocutore (it) m, interlocutrice (it) f
• Japanese: 対話者 (ja) (たいわしゃ, taiwasha), 対談者 (たいだんしゃ, taidansha)
• Kazakh: әңгімелесуші (äñgımelesuşı)
• Korean: 대화자(對話者) (ko) (daehwaja)
• Macedonian: соговорник m (sogovornik), соговорничка f (sogovornička)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: samtalepartner m

• Old English: ġespreca m
• Persian: طرف صحبت‎ (taraf-e sohbat)
• Polish: rozmówca (pl) m, rozmówczyni f, interlokutor (pl) m, interlokutorka (pl) f
• Portuguese: interlocutor (pt) m, interlocutora f
• Romanian: interlocutor (ro) m, interlocutoare (ro) f
• Russian: собесе́дник (ru) m (sobesédnik), собесе́дница (ru) f (sobesédnica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: саговорник m, суговорник m, саговорница f, суговорница

  Roman: sagovornik m, sugovornik (sh) m, sagovornica f, sugovornica (sh) f

• Slovene: sogovornik m, sogovornica f
• Spanish: interlocutor (es) m, interlocutora (es) f
• Tajik: ҳамсӯҳбат (hamsühbat), мусоҳиб (musohib)
• Turkish: muhatap (tr)
• Ukrainian: співрозмо́вник m (spivrozmóvnyk), співрозмо́вниця f (spivrozmóvnycja), співбесі́дник m (spivbesídnyk), співбесі́дниця f (spivbesídnycja)
• Uzbek: suhbatdosh (uz), hamsuhbat (uz)
• Vietnamese: người đối thoại, người đàm đạo

a man in the middle of the line in a minstrel show

Etymology 2

From French interlocutoire, from Latin interlocūtōrium.

Noun

interlocutor (plural interlocutors)

1. (Scotland, law) A decree of a court.
   • 1869, “The Judicial System of Scotland”, in The American Law Register (1852-1891), volume 17, number 5, page 257:

     A decree of the English Court of Chancery is not entitled to more respect in Scotland than a decree (interlocutor) of the Scottish Court of Session in England.

Translations

Scottish law: decree of a court

Catalan

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutors, feminine interlocutora)

1. interlocutor (a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation)

Further reading

• “interlocutor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “interlocutor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “interlocutor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “interlocutor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoʁ/ [ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoʁ/ [ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoʁ/ [ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoɻ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˌĩ.tɛɾ.lu.kuˈtoɾ/

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutores, feminine interlocutora, feminine plural interlocutoras)

1. interlocutor (a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French interlocuteur.

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutori)

1. interlocutor

Declension

Declension of interlocutor

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) interlocutor	interlocutorul	(niște) interlocutori	interlocutorii
genitive/dative	(unui) interlocutor	interlocutorului	(unor) interlocutori	interlocutorilor
vocative	interlocutorule		interlocutorilor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inteɾlokuˈtoɾ/ [ĩn̪.t̪eɾ.lo.kuˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: in‧ter‧lo‧cu‧tor

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutores, feminine interlocutora, feminine plural interlocutoras)

1. interlocutor
   • 1975, Jorge Luis Borges, “The Other”, in The Book of Sand, page 19:

     Los dos mentíamos y cada cual sabía que su interlocutor estaba mintiendo.

     We were both lying and each one of us knew that his interlocutor was lying.

2. negotiator
   • 2009 June 10, “Gadafi levanta una tienda en Roma”, in BBC Mundo‎^[1]:

     Gadafi recibirá a sus interlocutores en una carpa de estilo beduino...

     Gaddafi will receive his negotiators with a Bedouin-style carpet...

Further reading

• “interlocutor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014