interlocutor

English

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interlocutor

Wikipedia

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)

• 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”); borrowed from Medieval Latin interlocūtor.

Noun

interlocutor (plural interlocutors)

1. A person who takes part in dialogue or conversation: a locutive partner.

   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.

   • 2025 January 14, Howard LaFranchi, “In Biden-Trump handoff, a foreign policy shift for a changed world?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     In the run-up to his return to the White House next Monday, Mr. Trump has rattled the world, and America’s neighborhood in particular, with a list of objectives – buying Greenland, seizing the Panama Canal, making Canada the 51st state – that treat friendly nations as weak interlocutors and impediments to be subdued.

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.

Derived terms

• interlocutorship

Related terms

• elocution
• interlocution
• interlocutive
• interlocutorily
• interlocutory
• interlocutress
• interlocutrice
• interlocutrix
• locution
• locutional
• locutionary
• locutory
• 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]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

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

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

Related terms

• interlocució
• interlocutori

Further reading

• “interlocutor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “interlocutor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “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, 2012–2025

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]
  • (Porto Alegre) 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

Declension of interlocutor

	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:

     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 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024