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umpire - 7 dictionary results
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um⋅pire
[uhm-pahyuh
r] 
noun, verb, -pired, -pir⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | a person selected to rule on the plays in a game. |
| 2. | one selected to settle disputes about the application of settled rules or usages; a person agreed on by disputing parties to arbitrate their differences. |
–verb (used with object)
| 3. | to act as umpire in (a game). |
| 4. | to decide or settle (a controversy, dispute, or the like) as umpire; arbitrate. |
–verb (used without object)
| 5. | to act as umpire. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To umpire
| um·pire (ŭm'pīr') n.
v. tr. To act as referee for; rule or judge. v. intr. To be or act as a referee or an arbitrator. [Middle English (an) oumpere, (an) umpire, alteration of (a) noumpere, a mediator, from Old French nonper : non-, non- + per, equal, even, paired (from Latin pār; see pair).] Word History: Had it not been for the linguistic process known as false splitting or juncture loss, the angry, anguished cry "Kill the ump" could have been "Kill the nump." In the case of umpire we can almost see this process in action by studying the Middle English Dictionary entry for noumpere, the Middle English ancestor of our word. Noumpere comes from the Old French nonper, made up of non, "not," and per, "equal": as an impartial arbiter of a dispute between two people, the arbiter is not equivalent to or a partisan of either of them. In Middle English the earliest recorded form is noumper (about 1350); the earliest dated form without an n is owmpere, from 1440. How the n was lost can be seen if we compare the sequence a noounpier in a text written in 1426-1427 with the sequence an Oumper from a text written probably around 1475. The n of noumpere has here become attached to the indefinite article, giving us an instead of a and, eventually, umpire instead of *numpire. The same process of false splitting is responsible for the forms apron and adder, originally napron and naddre, as well as many other words that once began with n. False splitting also caused some words that originally began with vowels to have an n from a preceding indefinite article added on, such as nickname (from the phrase an eke name) and newt (from an eute). |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Umpire
Um"pire\, n. [OE. nompere, nounpere (also impier, fr. F. impair uneven), fr. OF. nomper uneven, F. non-pair; hence the meaning, uneven, i. e., third person; non not + OF. per even, equal, peer, F. pair; cf. L. impar uneven, unequal. See Non-, and Peer, n.]1. A person to whose sole decision a controversy or question between parties is referred; especially, one chosen to see that the rules of a game, as cricket, baseball, or the like, are strictly observed. A man, in questions of this kind, is able to be a skillful umpire between himself and others. --Barrow. 2. (Law) A third person, who is to decide a controversy or question submitted to arbitrators in case of their disagreement. --Blackstone. Syn: Judge; arbitrator; referee. See Judge.Umpire
Um"pire\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Umpired; p. pr. & vb. n. Umpiring.]1. To decide as umpire; to arbitrate; to settle, as a dispute. Judges appointed to umpire the matter in contest between them, and to decide where the right lies. --South. 2. To perform the duties of umpire in or for; as, to umpire a game. [Colloq.]Umpire
Um"pire\, v. i. To act as umpire or arbitrator.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : umpire
Spanish:
árbitro,
German:
der Schiedsrichter,
Japanese:
審判
umpire
c.1400, noumper, from O.Fr. nonper "odd number, not even," in reference to a third person to arbitrate between two, from non "not" + per "equal," from L. par. Initial -n- lost by c.1440 due to faulty separation of a noumpere, heard as an oumpere. Originally legal, the gaming sense first recorded 1714 (in wrestling). Short form ump is attested from 1915. The verb is first recorded 1609, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: um·pire
Function: noun
: a person having authority to decide finally a controversy or question between parties: as a : one appointed to decide between disagreeing arbitrators b : an impartial third party chosen to arbitrate disputes arising under the terms of a labor agreement c : one appointed to mediate between the appraisers of an insured and insurer in order to determine the amount of a loss
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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