interventor

Forms

interventor m (genitive interventōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin interveniō (“to come between, intervene”) + -tor.^[2][3][4] The verb is from inter (“between”) and veniō (“to come”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, at the start of De fato, speaks of a day “more free of interventores” (magis uacuo ab interventoribus die), that is, of people dropping in and interrupting.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The TLL notes that it occurs once in Cicero and then only from Ulpian and the Old Latin Bible on.^[3] In Ulpian it is a legal term for a guarantor or surety, and the Historia Augusta has it for an intercessor or mediator.^[2][7][8] Medieval Latin used it mostly for an intercessor,^[9] a go-between, envoy or negotiator, a guarantor, and an advocate who recommends someone,^[10] and of one who pleads for others with God.^[11]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of interrupting visitors.^[2][12]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it for a guarantor.^[2][12]
• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it.^[3][12]

Meanings

Noun

1. One who drops in and interrupts, a visitor.^[2][7]
2. (law) A guarantor, surety.^[2][7]
3. An intercessor, mediator.^[7][13][9]
4. (Medieval Latin) A go-between, envoy or negotiator; a messenger.^[10][11]
5. (Medieval Latin) One who pleads on another's behalf, especially with God; an advocate.^[11][10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
13. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.