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Origin and history of interpret

interpret(v.)

late 14c., "expound the meaning of, render clear or explicit," from Old French interpreter "explain; translate" (13c.) and directly from Latin interpretari "explain, expound, understand," from interpres "agent, translator," from inter "between" (see inter-) + second element probably from PIE *per- (5) "to traffic in, sell." Related: Interpreted; interpreting.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to interpret

interpretable(adj.)

1610s, from Late Latin interpretabilis "that can be explained or translated," from Latin interpretari "explain, expound, understand" (see interpret).

interpretation(n.)

mid-14c. "a translated text, a translation" (late 13c. in Anglo-French), from Old French interpretacion, entrepretatiun "explanation, translation" (12c.) and directly from Latin interpretationem (nominative interpretatio) "explanation, exposition," noun of action from past participle stem of interpretari "explain, expound; understand" (see interpret).

From late 14c. as "act or process of explaining or interpreting; an explanation; construction placed upon an action." Meaning "dramatic or musical representation" is from 1880.

  • interpretative
  • interpreter
  • interpretive
  • misinterpret
  • inter-
  • *per-
  • See All Related Words (8)
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More to explore

rede
"counsel, advice," Old English ræd "advice, counsel," from Proto-Germanic *redin (source also of Old Saxon rad "advice, counsel, help, advantage," Old Frisian red "council, advice," Dutch raad "advice, counsel," German Rat "advice, counsel," Old Norse rað "advice, consideration,
translate
early 14c., "to remove from one place to another," also "to turn from one language to another," from Old French translater and directly from Latin translatus "carried over," serving as past participle of transferre "to bring over, carry over" (see transfer), from trans "across, b
render
late 14c., rendren, rendre, "repeat, say again, recite; translate," from Old French rendre "give back, present, yield" (10c.) and Medieval Latin rendere, from Vulgar Latin *rendere, a variant of Latin reddere "give back, return, restore," from red- "back" (see re-) + combining fo
construe
late 14c., "to arrange the words of (a translation) in their natural order," hence "to interpret, explain, understand the...Specific sense in law, "to explain or interpret for legal purposes," is from 1580s....
read
source also of Old Norse raða, Old Frisian reda, Dutch raden, Old High German ratan, German raten "to advise, counsel, interpret...Old English also had a related noun ræd, red "advice," and read is connected to riddle (n.1) via the notion of "interpret...  The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English...
semiotic
portending, worth marking," also "observant of signs," adjective form of sēmeiosis "indication," from sēmeioun "to signal, to interpret...
declare
mid-14c., declaren, "explain, interpret, make clear;" late 14c., "make known by words, state explicitly, proclaim, announce...
take
Middle English taken, from late Old English tacan "to grip, seize by force, lay hold of," from a Scandinavian source (such as Old Norse taka "take, grasp, lay hold," past tense tok, past participle tekinn; also compare Swedish ta, past participle tagit). This is reconstructed to
present
c. 1300, "being in the same place as someone or something;" early 14c., "existing at the time," from Old French present "evident, at hand, within reach;" as a noun, "the present time" (11c., Modern French présent) and directly from Latin praesentem (nominative praesens) "present,
evoke
"to call or summon forth or out," 1620s, from French évoquer or directly from Latin evocare "call out, rouse, summon," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). Often more or

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Dictionary entries near interpret
  • interpolate
  • interpolation
  • interpolator
  • interpose
  • interposition
  • interpret
  • interpretable
  • interpretation
  • interpretative
  • interpreter
  • interpretive
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