You are right, V8 does not have an interpreter. However, I think it is fairly accurately desribed as a JIT, because it compiles methods to native code when need

You are right, V8 does not have an interpreter. However, I think it is fairly accurately desribed as a JIT, because it compiles methods to native code when needed, i.e., before the first invocation/execution of any specific piece of code. Other approaches, like JVM, are more accurately described as "dynamic compilation" sub-systems of the virtual machine. At least that's my understanding of things, and I used to lump everything in that area into the "JIT" category, until (quite recently, actually) someone brought this small but important distinction to my attention. I don't see how one could make an argument not classifying V8 as a JIT compilation virtual machine, though...