interpres

Latin

Alternative forms

• interprex (Epigraphic Latin)

Etymology

From inter (“between”) + a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to sell, traffic in”), extended sense from *per- (“forward”), with proposed sound shifts *enter-poro- (“going between”) > *enter-pore-t- (“who goes between”) (t-stem derivative) > *enterpŏress (with syncope of the -et and addition of the nominative singular case ending) > *enterpress > interpres.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /inˈter.pres/, [ɪn̪ˈt̪ɛrprɛs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈter.pres/, [in̪ˈt̪ɛrpres]

Noun

interpres m or f (genitive interpretis); third declension

1. An agent between two parties; broker, mediator, negotiator, factor, messenger

   Synonyms: cōciō, arillātor

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.356–358:

     “Nunc etiam interpres dīvom, Iove missus ab ipsō —
     testor utrumque caput — celerīs mandāta per aurās
     dētulit [...].

     “And now even the messenger of the gods, sent from Jove himself – I swear by your life and mine – has delivered commands [to me] through the swift winds.”
     (The messenger was Mercury. Syncopation: “divom” for “divorum”.)

2. A translator, interpreter, expounder, expositor, explainer; dragoman

   Synonyms: coniector, commentātor, interpretātor, trānslātor

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	interpres	interpretēs
genitive	interpretis	interpretum
dative	interpretī	interpretibus
accusative	interpretem	interpretēs
ablative	interprete	interpretibus
vocative	interpres	interpretēs

Derived terms

• interpretor

Related terms

• interpretābilis
• interpretāmentum
• interpretātiō
• interpretātiuncula
• interpretātor
• interpretātōrius
• interpretātrīx
• interpretātus

 

Descendants

• Asturian: intérprete
• Catalan: intèrpret
• French: interprète
• Galician: intérprete
• German: Interpret
• Italian: interprete
• Portuguese: intérprete
• Spanish: intérprete
  • → Tagalog: interprete

References

• “interpres”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “interpres”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• interpres in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• interpres in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • an interpreter of dreams: somniorum interpres, coniector
    
  • the translator: interpres
    
• “interpres”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• interpres in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “interpres”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin