interlocutor

[ in-ter-lok-yuh-ter ]

noun

1. a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue.
2. the man in the middle of the line of performers in a minstrel troupe, who acts as the announcer and banters with the end men.
3. a person who questions; interrogator.

interlocutor

/ ˌɪntəˈlɒkjʊtə /

noun

1. a person who takes part in a conversation
2. Also calledmiddleman the man in the centre of a troupe of minstrels who engages the others in talk or acts as announcer
3. Scots law a decree by a judge

Derived Forms

• ˌinterˈlocutress, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of interlocutor¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin interlocū-, variant stem of interloquī “to speak between” ( inter- inter- + loquī “to speak”) + -tor

Example Sentences

In person, Ballerini is warm, chatty, slightly gossipy — a veteran star who has retained an essential down-to-earth quality but who also knows through experience how to create a sense of emotional intimacy with an interlocutor.

From Los Angeles Times

His European interlocutors nodded but without much evident enthusiasm.

From BBC

But a vice president is never the primary interlocutor with Europe — that was always Biden.

From Los Angeles Times

Then they’ve continued indirect talks with the U.S. in Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that’s been a key interlocutor between Tehran and the West.

From Seattle Times

Zarif offered him the ambassadorship to Oman, still a strategically important post given the sultanate long serving as an interlocutor between Iran and the West.

From Seattle Times