interrupter

interrupter

English

Etymology

interrupt +‎ -er

Pronunciation

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Noun

interrupter (plural interrupters)

1. One who or that which interrupts.
2. A device for opening and closing an electrical circuit.
3. (slang, humorous) An interpreter (person who interprets speech in a foreign language)
   • 2005, Ian Oliver, ‎Jan Oliver, War and Peace in the Balkans

     The other half of the local staff was employed as interpreters, often affectionately known as 'interrupters.'

   • 2017, Dean Bailey, Crawling Out of Hell: The True Story of a British Sniper's Greatest Battle

     The Coldstream Guards were already in place and knocked on the door. Daz Farrugia stood at the door with the Iraqi interrupter. […] The door opened and a middle aged Iraqi man stood there in his pajamas, gobbing off in Arabic, saying who knows what, but I guessed it was not very complimentary; the interpreter managed to calm him down.

Translations

One who or that which interrupts

Bulgarian: смутител (bg) m (smutitel) Galician: estripacontos

Spanish: interrumpidor m

A device for opening and closing an electrical circuit

Bulgarian: прекъсвач (bg) m (prekǎsvač) Spanish: interruptor (es) m

Tagalog: panggatol

References

• interrupter in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• interrupter in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.