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arbiter - 6 dictionary results

ar⋅bi⋅ter

  [ahr-bi-ter]
Use arbiter in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person empowered to decide matters at issue; judge; umpire.
2. a person who has the sole or absolute power of judging or determining.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME arbitour, arbitre < AF, OF < L arbiter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ar·bi·ter   (är'bĭ-tər)   
n.  
  1. One chosen or appointed to judge or decide a disputed issue; an arbitrator.
  2. One who has the power to judge or ordain at will: an arbiter of fashion. See Synonyms at judge.

[Middle English arbitre, from Old French, from Latin arbiter, of Phoenician origin; see ʕrb in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Arbiter

Ar"bi*ter\, n. [L. arbiter; ar- (for ad) + the root of betere to go; hence properly, one who comes up to look on.]

1. A person appointed, or chosen, by parties to determine a controversy between them.

Note: In modern usage, arbitrator is the technical word.

2. Any person who has the power of judging and determining, or ordaining, without control; one whose power of deciding and governing is not limited.

For Jove is arbiter of both to man. --Cowper.

Syn: Arbitrator; umpire; director; referee; controller; ruler; governor.

Arbiter

Ar"bi*ter\, v. t. To act as arbiter between. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : arbiter
Spanish: árbitro,
German: derVermittler,
Japanese: 調停者
More Translations »

arbiter 
1502, from L. arbiter "one who goes somewhere (as witness or judge)," from ad- "to" + baetere "to come, go." The spec. sense of "one chosen by two disputing parties to decide the matter" is from 1549. Arbitration in this sense is from 1634 (see also arbitrate). The earliest form of the word attested in Eng. is the fem. noun arbitress (1340) "a woman who settles disputes."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ar·bi·ter
Pronunciation: 'är-b&-t&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, onlooker, arbitrator
: ARBITRATOR
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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