INTERPRETATION, in general, the action of explaining, or rendering the sense of an obscure form of words or an unknown tongue into a language comprehended by the person addressed. In legal use the word is employed in the sense of ascertaining the meaning of the language of a document. (See CONTRACT; WILL, etc.) It is usual for statutes to contain definitions and the British Interpretation Act of 1889 is of general application. This term is used similarly in the United States.