Origin: Latin prefix inter-
Interpreter has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
someone who mediates between speakers of different languages
"The airport hired an interpreter to translate announcements from English into Spanish for the arriving passengers."
someone who uses art to represent something
"his paintings reveal a sensitive interpreter of nature"
"she was famous as an interpreter of Shakespearean roles"
an advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose
"the meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government"
(computer science) a program that translates and executes source language statements one line at a time
"The interpreter processes each line of Python code immediately, translating and executing it before moving to the next statement."
One who conveys what a user of one language is saying or signing, in real time or shortly after that person has finished communicating, to a user of a different language. (Contrasted with a translator.)
"The conference organizer hired an interpreter to facilitate communication between the English-speaking delegates and the Japanese participants during the live summit."
In plain English: An interpreter is someone who translates spoken language from one person to another so they can communicate with each other.
"The interpreter translated the speech for everyone in the conference room."
Usage: An interpreter translates spoken or signed communication between languages simultaneously during conversations, whereas an translator converts written text. Use this term for live events like conferences rather than for people who work with documents.
The word interpreter comes from Late Latin interpretator, which originally meant "one who explains or translates." It entered English via Old French and Middle English, evolving from an earlier term for a divine messenger to describe anyone acting as a go-between in communication.