LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

interpres

interpres m or f (genitive interpretis)
Classical[ɪnˈtɛr.prɛs]Ecclesiastical[inˈtɛr.pres]
interprex

Meaning

  1. femininemasculineAn agent between two parties; broker, mediator, negotiator, factor, messenger
    “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”.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.356–358
  2. femininemasculineA translator, interpreter, expounder, expositor, explainer; dragoman

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī verba ūnīus linguae in alteram vertit
interpres -etis (m) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 24

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeinterpresinterpretēs
genitiveinterpretisinterpretum
dativeinterpretīinterpretibus
accusativeinterpreteminterpretēs
ablativeinterpreteinterpretibus
vocativeinterpresinterpretēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

interpres
the translator.
somniorum interpres, coniector
an interpreter of dreams.

inter-prĕs, ĕtis, com. inter, and Sanscr. root prath-, to spread abroad; cf. πλατύς, latus.
I. An agent between two parties, a broker, factor, negotiator (class.): quod te praesente isti egi, teque interprete, through your agency, Plaut. Curc. 3, 64: quasi ego ei rei sim interpres, id. Mil. 3, 1, 203: quasi ea res per me interpretem curetur, id. ib. 3, 3, 36; 4, 1, 6: interpretes corrumpendi judicii, Cic. Verr. 1, 12: pacis, Liv. 21, 12: divūm, the messenger of the gods, i. e. Mercury, Verg. A. 4, 356; 3, 359: harum curarum, i. e. Juno, the goddess of marriage, id. ib. 608.—
II. An explainer, expounder, translator, interpreter (syn. internuntius): juris, Cic. Top. 1: legum, Juv. 4, 79; 6, 544: grammatici interpretes poëtarum, Cic. Div. 1, 18: caeli, an astronomer, id. ib. 2, 44: mentis est oratio, id. Leg. 1, 10; cf. lingua, Hor. A. P. 111: metus interpres semper in deteriora inclinatus, Liv. 27, 44: comitiorum, i. e. the Haruspices, who can tell whether or not the comitia are properly held, Cic. N. D. 2, 4: portentorum, a soothsayer, id. Div. 2, 28: nec converti, ut interpres, sed ut orator, a translator, id. Opt. Gen. Or. 5, 14: indiserti, id. Fin. 3, 4: interpres veridica, Liv. 1, 7.—
B. Esp., an interpreter, dragoman: quotidianis interpretibus remotis, per C. Valerium cum eo (Divitiaco) colloquitur, Caes. B. G. 1, 19: appellare aliquem per interpretem, Plin. 25, 2, 3, § 6: audire aliquem cum interprete, Cic. Fin. 5, 29: litteraeque lectae per interpretem sunt, Liv. 27, 43 al.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁n̥tér
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥ter
  4. Latininterpres

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

Descendants
  • Catalanintèrpret
  • Frenchinterprète
  • GermanInterpret
  • Italianinterprete
  • Portugueseintérprete
  • Spanishintérprete
  • Asturianintérprete
  • Galicianintérprete
  • Tagaloginterpretefrom Spanish intérprete

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesInterpresInterpres an interpreter. This class of persons became very numerous and necessary to the Romans as their empire extended. Embassies from foreign nati…

Quick answers

What does interpres mean in Latin?
interpres, a noun, means “An agent between two parties; broker, mediator, negotiator, factor, messenger; A translator, interpreter, expounder, expositor, explainer”.
What is the genitive of interpres?
The genitive singular is interpretis. interpres is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce interpres?
In classical Latin, [ɪnˈtɛr.prɛs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [inˈtɛr.pres].
Where does interpres come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁én → Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥tér → Proto-Italic *n̥ter → Latin interpres.