interventor

English

Etymology

From Latin interventor. Compare French interventeur.

Noun

interventor (plural interventors)

1. One who intervenes; a mediator, especially one designated by a church to reconcile parties and unite them in the choice of officers.
   • 1841, Lyman Coleman, The Antiquities of the Christian Church:

     An effort was made, particularly in the Latin church, to correct the disorders of popular elections without taking away the rights of the people. This they did by the agency of an interventor, who was sent among the people to endeavour to unite their votes upon a given person […]

   • 1959 November, “Notes and News: The Paraguay Central Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 804:

     The Paraguayan Government took over responsibility for the working on August 1, and appointed an interventor supervising operation.

2. (US) A mine inspector.

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin interventor.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

interventor (feminine interventora, masculine plural interventors, feminine plural interventores)

1. intervening

Noun

interventor m (plural interventors, feminine interventora, feminine plural interventores)

1. inspector
2. auditor
3. (elections) monitor
4. (transit) ticket inspector

   Synonym: revisor

Related terms

• intervenció
• intervenir

Further reading

• “interventor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *-tér

Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥tér

Proto-Italic *n̥ter

Latin inter

Latin inter-

Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti

Proto-Italic *gʷəniō

Latin veniō

Latin interveniō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin interventor

From interveniō + -tor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɪn.tɛrˈwɛn.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [in.terˈvɛn.tor]

Noun

interventor m (genitive interventōris); third declension

1. visitor
2. bondsman, guarantor
3. mediator
4. (Christianity) one of a group of people who administer the episcopate while the see is vacant

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	interventor	interventōrēs
genitive	interventōris	interventōrum
dative	interventōrī	interventōribus
accusative	interventōrem	interventōrēs
ablative	interventōre	interventōribus
vocative	interventor	interventōrēs

Descendants

• Catalan: interventor
• → English: interventor
• Spanish: interventor

References

• “interventor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “interventor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "interventor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *-tér

Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥tér

Proto-Italic *n̥ter

Latin inter

Latin inter-

Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti

Proto-Italic *gʷəniō

Latin veniō

Latin interveniō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin interventorlbor.

Portuguese interventor

Learned borrowing from Latin interventor.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.vẽˈtoʁ/ [ĩ.teɦ.vẽˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.vẽˈtoʁ/ [ĩ.teɦ.vẽˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teɾ.vẽˈtoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teʁ.vẽˈtoʁ/ [ĩ.teʁ.vẽˈtoχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ĩ.teɻ.vẽˈtoɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.vẽˈtoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.vẽˈtoɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.bẽˈtoɾ/ [ĩ.tɨɾ.βẽˈtoɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩ.tɨɾ.vẽˈto.ɾi/

Noun

interventor m (plural interventores)

1. synonym of interveniente
2. (Brazil, historical) state governor during the Vargas Era

Further reading

• “interventor”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “interventor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “interventor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *-tér

Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥tér

Proto-Italic *n̥ter

Latin inter

Latin inter-

Proto-Indo-European *gʷem-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti

Proto-Italic *gʷəniō

Latin veniō

Latin interveniō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin interventorlbor.

Spanish interventor

Learned borrowing from Latin interventor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inteɾbenˈtoɾ/ [ĩn̪.t̪eɾ.β̞ẽn̪ˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: in‧ter‧ven‧tor

Noun

interventor m (plural interventores, feminine interventora, feminine plural interventoras)

1. comptroller
2. (elections) monitor

Further reading

• “interventor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026