Comment by amszmidt

The easy definition is that an interpreter takes somethings and runs/executes it.

A compiler takes the same thing, but produces an intermediate form (byte code, machine code, another languages sometimes called "transpilar"). That you can then pass through an interpreter of sorts.

There is no difference between Java and JVM, and Python and the Python Virtual Machine, or even a C compiler targeting x86 and a x86 CPU. One might call some byte code, and the other machine code .. they do the same thing.