interlocutor

English

Alternative forms

• interlocutour (obsolete)

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

The agent noun counterpart, via suffix -tor, 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.

   Synonyms: converser, conversant, conversationalist, partner, collocutor

   Coordinate terms: asker, answerer, correspondent, interviewer, interviewee, penpal

   • 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 endmen 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.

Related terms

Terms related to interlocutor

• elocution
• interlocution
• interlocutorily
• interlocutory
• interlocutress
• interlocutrice
• interlocutrix
• locution
• oblocutor

Translations

a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation

• Armenian: զրուցակից (hy) (zrucʻakicʻ), խոսակից (hy) (xosakicʻ)
• 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)

• Czech: účastník rozmluvy, účastník dialogu, partner v dialogu
• 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
• Ottoman Turkish: كلیم (kelim)
• Persian: طرف صحبت (taraf-e sohbat)
• Polish: rozmówca (pl) m, rozmówczyni (pl) 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. (Scots 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

Scots law: decree of a court

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [in.tər.lu.kuˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [in.tər.lo.kuˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [in.teɾ.lo.kuˈtoɾ]

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutors, feminine interlocutora)

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

Related terms

• interlocució
• interlocutori

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, 2024
• “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.

Galician

Noun

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

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

Related terms

• interlocutorio

Further reading

• “interlocutor”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.lo.kuˈtoʁ/ [ĩ.teɦ.lo.kuˈtoh]

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

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.lu.kuˈtoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.lu.kuˈtoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.lu.kuˈto.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧lo‧cu‧tor

Noun

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

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

Related terms

• interlocução
• interlocutório

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French interlocuteur.

Noun

interlocutor m (plural interlocutori)

1. interlocutor

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	interlocutor	interlocutorul		interlocutori	interlocutorii
genitive-dative	interlocutor	interlocutorului		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...

Related terms

• interlocución
• interlocutorio

 

Further reading

• “interlocutor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28