The compiled or interpreted nature of a language (or its runtime) is a fuzzy concept at best (Java is interpreted on the JVM in the sense that it emits bytecode

The compiled or interpreted nature of a language (or its runtime) is a fuzzy concept at best (Java is interpreted on the JVM in the sense that it emits bytecode that is interpreted by the JVM; the main implementation of Clojure JVM compiles Clojure to Java bytecode that eventually gets interpreted). The notion you're looking for is probably that of incremental compilation / running.